"I have great love and respect for Mr A P J Abdul Kalam. It is my desire to attend his funeral and pay respects to him. However, due to my health condition I am unable to undertake a journey," she said in a statement.
The chief minister deputed the top four Ministers of her cabinet -- O Panneerselvam, Natham R Viswanathan (Electricity), R Vaithilingam (Housing) and Edappady K Palaniswamy (Highways) to pay respects to the former President tomorrow on her behalf and the Tamil Nadu government.
Ministers for Higher Education, Youth Welfare and Sports and Revenue, P Palaniappan, S Sundararaj and R B Uthayakumar, respectively, will also pay respects, she added.
"I have also directed that a public holiday be declared tomorrow (Thursday) as a mark of respect to Kalam," she added.