Amma, not Chinamma, in OPS' pocket

OPS has impressed Chennai residents by his astute, on the scene, handling of the Cyclone Vardah aftermath.

As we reported on Monday, Tamil Nadu's low profile Chief Minister O Panneerselvam was in New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

OPS had three urgent requests to discuss with Modi, apart from sundry matters of governance:

• Urgent financial assistance for Tamil Nadu to cope with post-Cyclone Vardah losses.
• A request that the Centre honour his Amma, the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, with a Bharat Ratna.
• A request that a bronze statue of Jayalalithaa be installed in Parliament. Jayalalalithaa was a member of the Rajya Sabha for four years in the 1980s.

The last time Modi and OPS met was at Jayalalalithaa's lying-in-state at the Rajaji Hall in Chennai on December 6 when the chief minister is said to have wept like a child when the prime minister condoled with him.

OPS, who was known to keep a portrait of Jayalalalithaa on his table when he officiated for her after she was twice forced out of office, has apparently not yet moved into the chief minister's office at Fort St George, the state secretariat. He continues to operate from his earlier finance minister's office.

His devotion to Amma was very much on display when a friend met OPS in Delhi on Monday.

Look closely at the chief minister's pocket and you will see Amma there.

No Chinamma in the pocket yet for OPS, who Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar reports, has impressed Chennai residents by his astute, on the scene, handling of the Cyclone Vardah aftermath and damage, ensuring that relief reached citizens quickly unlike what happened during the floods in the city last year.