The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's youth wing secretary and MLA, Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday assumed the office of Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development and asserted that he would answer the criticism of 'family politics' through his work.
On assumption of office, Udhayanidhi accorded sanction to three initiatives, by signing on official documents. Hike in pension to indigent sportspersons to Rs 6,000 per month from Rs 3,000, sanction of pension to more persons and conducting Chief Minister's Trophy tournaments at a cost of Rs 47 crore (2022-23) were among the schemes.
Accusations of family politics was nothing new to him and it was also unavoidable, he said, adding he would face it and answer the jibes aimed at him through sheer work. "Tell me if there are any grievances," he told reporters after taking oath of office.
The criticism was just the same when he was appointed the party's youth wing chief in 2019 and then, when picked as a party candidate to contest the 2021 assembly election, Udhayanidhi said in a statement.
"I will try to win the hearts of the people through my work," he said pointing to his new 'responsibility' of Youth Welfare Minister. "I will try to do my best by taking the new responsibility as a challenge." He listed the party work he has rendered, services to the people as a legislator and during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin and his Cabinet colleagues, Udhayanidhi was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi in a simple swearing-in ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan.
In essence, it was a show of solidarity by the DMK brass and rank and file against the backdrop of main opposition AIADMK's tirade of dynasty politics.
Chief Minister Stalin made a reshuffle of portfolios held by 10 Ministers and allocated the Special Programme Implementation (SPI) portfolio, held by him, to Udhayanidhi.
Flanked by senior Ministers Duraimurugan and K N Nehru, Udhayanidhi formally assumed office at the Secretariat on the premises of Fort St George here. All other Ministers including Anbil Mahesh, E V Velu and V Senthil Balaji and top officials were present.
While DMK's allies including Congress took part, the main opposition AIADMK, which has been accusing the ruling party of family politics, boycotted the function.
Ravi greeted Udhayanidhi after administering him the oath. Top stars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan congratulated him. Stalin's cousin and former Union Minister M K Alagiri's son, Dhaya Alagiri was among members of the extended family who greeted him in person.
Haasan, addressing Udhayanidhi as 'Thambi' (younger brother), said he believed that 'three generations of experience' would help him. "There are expectations and your successs lies in fulfilling them," the renowned actor said. Rajinikanth said he extended his wholehearted wishes to 'dear Thambi' Udhayanidhi.
Udhayanidhi has been allocated Youth Welfare, Sports Development, SPI Department and Poverty Alleviation Programme.
Senior Minister, I Periyasamy, who was reportedly not happy with his department of Cooperatives (Cooperation Department), was re-designated as Minister for Rural Development, which covers panchayats as well. Siva V Meyyanathan (Environment and Climate Change) previously held the Youth Welfare and Sport Development portfolio.
Rural Development Minister K R Periyakaruppan is re-designated as Minister for Cooperation and Forests Minister K Ramachandran is now Minister for Tourism. Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekar Babu would also handle Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA). M Mathiventhan, who held the Tourism department, is the new Forests Minister.
Speaking to reporters, Udhayanidhi said that he would not act in films henceforth and Mari Selvaraj directorial 'Maamannan' (meaning the emperor, the Tamil flick is expected to be released in 2023) shall be his last film. He said he had to turn down an offer from actor-producer Kamal Haasan to act in a film.
Son of Chief Minister Stalin and MLA representing Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni constituency in Chennai, Udhayanidhi is the 35th minister.
In total, there are 35 ministers including the Chief Minister. There are 234 MLAs in the assembly.
Answering a question, he said his goal is to work towards making Tamil Nadu the nation's sports capital and ensure stadiums are built across the state as assured in the party's manifesto for the 2021 assembly elections.
At the secretariat, the Youth Welfare Minister also gave Rs 4 lakh incentive, by way of a cheque, to junior-level world shooting champion, Coimbatore-based Niveditha.
Clad in his trademark folded-up, full-sleeve white shirt, with a popular logo of DMK's youth wing embossed on it, Udhayanidhi took the oath in Tamil, in a style that was characteristic of his father and party chief Stalin. The youth wing logo sports a young man, on the move, holding atop the DMK's red and black flag.
On his Twitter handle, Udhayanidhi said he would always work with a consciousness that it was a responsibility given to him and not a post. He took the blessings of his father and mother, Stalin and Durga Stalin.
The swearing-in ceremony was over in 10 minutes.
The 45-year old leader, hailed by party workers as 'Chinnavar' (young leader), was congratulated by State Ministers and senior party leaders on his assumption of office.
