Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi was sworn in as a minister on Wednesday. The youth wing secretary of the DMK and MLA’s swearing-in ceremony was held at 9.30 am.
The first-time MLA has been given the Youth Welfare and Sports Development portfolio, as per CNN-News18.
Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, he addressed allegations of nepotism. “The dynasty centric party is something the opposition will keep saying time and again. This is not new. I will prove through my work,” he said.
“I want to build more stadiums. Will discuss with CM on how to take it forward,” Udhayanidhi said regarding his Cabinet portfolio.
On acting, he said, “I won’t act anymore. Mamannan will be my last film. Will I miss acting? I don’t know.”
“Rajini sir (Rajinikanth) called me and wished me. I thanked him for his wishes,” he added.
Udhayanidhi was elected in the 2021 Assembly election for the first time from the Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni Assembly Constituency, a seat once held by his grandfather and late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi.
An actor and filmmaker, he was a star campaigner for the party in the polls and his campaign style, like posing with a brick to target the BJP for the ‘delay’ in construction of AIIMS in Madurai drew attention.
He currently heads the youth wing of the DMK and is hailed by party workers as a successful organiser and go-getter, who made the youth wing scale new heights under his leadership.
Opposition AIADMK leader and former minister Sellur Raju hit out at the ruling party’s decision. He said, “DMK is functioning like a private company. Tomorrow, Udhayanidhi Stalin will take charge as minister. Stalin is doing all this as he is intoxicated with power.”
Leader of Opposition and AIADMK interim general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami also slammed Stalin’s party as a ‘family party’.
Stalin is set to make his son Udhayanidhi a Minister ‘within four days’ and seniors have been given ‘dummy’ departments, he claimed. Those who have slogged for the party have not got posts, he alleged while addressing a party event in Tirupur.
He said late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had once criticised the Nehru-Gandhi family and wondered if it was a royal clan as those belonging to that family managed to become the Prime Minister.
“Nothing will change when Udhayanidhi Stalin becomes a state minister, he will be the leader of all those corrupt…Will a river of honey and milk flow when Udhayanidhi Stalin becomes a minister?” he asked.
(With PTI inputs)
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