Jayalalithaa reshuffles Cabinet, drops minister

Chennai: In a minor reshuffle of the cabinet and party ranks, Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa on Wednesday dropped C Ve Shanmugam from the Ministry and stripped him off a key party post.

Mr Shanmugam, who was a part of earlier cabinet reshuffles also, was dropped as Commercial Taxes and Registration Minister by Governor K Rosaiah on the advice of Ms Jayalalithaa, a Raj Bhavan communique said.

Government Chief Whip and Sankarapuram MLA, P Mohan was inducted into the cabinet as Minister for Rural Industries, including Cottage and Small Industries, hitherto held by M C Sampath.

Environment Minister B V Ramanaa has been designated as Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration. Mr Sampath is the Environment Minister.

School Education Minister N R Sivapathy will additionally hold the portfolio of Law, Courts and Prisons, Personnel and Administrative Reforms and Prevention of Corruption.

Social Welfare Minister B Valarmathi has been handed additional charge of Nutritious Noon Meal Programme, it said.

Meanwhile, Ms Jayalalithaa removed Mr Shanmugam as District Secretary of the party's Villupuram (North) unit, replacing him with Dr R Lakshmanan.

 Two more secretaries, G Senthamizhan, South Chennai (South), and P Vetrivel North Chennai), both MLAs, were also removed from their respective posts, Ms Jayalalithaa said in a party statement.

• Also See