Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin used the opportunity of a minor Cabinet reshuffle to bring his son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, into the State Council of Ministers, marking a definitive shift in the party course which would tend to lean more and more on the youth. As expected, Opposition parties like the AIADMK cried foul.

Udhayanidhi, MLA from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency in Chennai, was sworn-in by TN Governor R N Ravi, with the allocation of  portfolios of Youth Welfare and Sports Development, besides Special Programme Implementation, Poverty Alleviation Programme and Rural Indebtedness. The Tamil Nadu Cabinet now has 35 members after the second minor reshuffle since the DMK came to power in 2021.

On the recommendation of the chief minister, the Governor approved the change of portfolios for the following Ministers: I. Periasamy, Minister for Cooperation to be Minister for Rural Development; K.R. Periyakaruppan, Minister for Rural Development to be Minister for Cooperation; K. Ramachandran, Minister for Forests to be Minister for Tourism and Dr. M. Mathiventhan, Minister for Tourism to be Minister for Forests.

Some Ministers have also had additional subject allocations to their portfolios.

Udhayanidhi is already the DMK’s youth wing leader. Speaking to presspersons, Udhayanidhi said he realised his responsibilities, and would discharge them. To those who criticised his elevation as a symptom of dynastic politics, Udhaya said he would prove his mark with his performance.

An actor by profession, he has now given up his career as a film actor, following the induction into the State cabinet. A film producer and distributor, he later took to acting. ‘Mamannan,’ directed by Mari Selvaraj, will be his last as an actor after swearing in as state minister. “I was supposed to act in a movie to be produced by Kamal Haasan. When I told him about my decision that I will not be able to do it, he blessed me,” Udhaya said.

Addressing journalists in Chennai, Udhaya said his priority was to make Tamil Nadu a sports capital. He approved the inclusion of Silambam (martial art) and Kabaddi in games for the Chief Minister’s Trophy.

Plan to make TN a sports capital

Udhaya said he would devote attention to make Tamil Nadu a sports capital.

“I have an idea about converting Tamil Nadu into a sports destination. We have also promised in our election manifesto that there would be mini stadiums in every Assembly constituency. I have to speed up work to fulfil this promise. We will encourage all sportspersons and expand sports activities,” he said.

Udhayanidhi, soon after assuming office, signed three files — one of which was to include Silambam and Kabaddi at all levels, in the State games for the Chief Minister’s Trophy conducted by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT).

Earlier, only 10 sports events were conducted under the Chief Minister’s Trophy, but it had now been decided to increase the number to 16, by including traditional games. Participation of persons with disabilities, the general public and government employees in these events would also be encouraged, he added.

Udhayanidhi sanctioned Rs. 47.04 crore to conduct the CM’s Trophy event and the formation of State-level coordination committees, district youth welfare and sports development committees and another committee, to conduct district-level sports.

He also signed a file to grant pensions to needy sportspersons, and to also hike the amount.

Kabaddi players H. Jaffar and K. Krishnamoorthy from Karur district and A. Christopher from Thoothukudi, powerlifting player G. Ponsadayan from Salem, S. Jagannathan from Coimbatore, R. Kuthalingam from Tenkasi, weightlifting player V. Govindaraj from Tiruvarur, ball badminton player A.L. Kaleel Rahman from Coimbatore and chess player S. Sivarajan from Kanniyakumari district have been granted pension under the scheme, under which they would get Rs 3,000 per month from March 2022 to August 2022 and from August, a hiked amount of Rs. 6,000 per month.

He signed a third file to provide Rs. 4 lakh to Niveditha Nair, who won a silver medal in the pistol competition at the Junior World Championship held in Peru by the International Shooting Sport Federation last year.

Meanwhile, leaders of some opposition parties like the AIADMK criticised the decision to bring the CM’s son into the Cabinet and decried the attempt to perpetuate dynastic politics. Sasikala Natarajan, who stands expelled from the AIADMK and now heads a separate AIADMK group, was critical of the “coronation”. Her nephew, TTV Dhinakaran, who heads another rival AIADMK group, questioned the rationale behind the elevation.

KP Munuswamy, an office-bearer of the AIADMK led by former chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami, said dynastic politics was in the bloodstream of the DMK.

Senior leaders of the DMK and the younger elements joined hands to celebrate the elevation of Stalin, and extended him warm greetings, demonstrating that the entire party was behind him.