TVK's youngest minister fails to take oath on first try. Here's why
Keerthana later returned to the House with the certificate, submitted it to the official and took oath in the name of God. Keerthana, who won from Sivakasi by a margin of 11,670 votes, was the last minister to take oath.
The oath-taking ceremony of newly elected MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly saw a brief moment of drama on Monday after TVK MLA and minister S Keerthana was unable to produce her election certificate initially, forcing her to return and retrieve it.
When Assembly Principal Secretary K Srinivasan invited Keerthana to take oath, she walked to the podium situated beside the chief minister’s chair.
As Keerthana approached the podium, Srinivasan raised his hand and asked for her election certificate, as seen in the live telecast of the Assembly proceedings.
However, she was unable to produce the document. Her response to Srinivasan was not audible, following which she left the podium.
“It seems she did not have her election certificate with her. Since she could not submit it, the senior official politely declined to allow her to take oath,” an official told PTI.
Keerthana later returned to the House with the certificate, submitted it to the official and took oath in the name of God.
Keerthana, who won from Sivakasi by a margin of 11,670 votes, was the last minister to take oath.
OTHER MOMENTS OF DRAMA IN THE ASSEMBLY
However, Keerthana was not the only MLA involved in a mix-up during the oath-taking ceremony.
Another legislator mistakenly presented his party colleague’s election certificate before the error was pointed out, while an AIADMK MLA broke down after seeing a portrait of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
When Velachery TVK MLA R Kumar was about to begin taking oath after submitting the document, Srinivasan stopped him. He pointed out that the certificate carried someone else’s name.
It later emerged that Kumar had mistakenly brought the document belonging to his party colleague seated next to him and had handed it over to Srinivasan.
Meanwhile, AIADMK MLA K Mohan from Panrutti became emotional while taking the oath, paying tribute to Jayalalithaa with folded hands before her portrait in the Assembly hall.
ASSEMBLY SESSION BEGINS
All MLAs, including Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, first submitted their election certificates before being invited by officials to take the oath as mandated by the Constitution.
An official said MLAs had been clearly instructed to bring their election certificates, which are required before a lawmaker can be sworn in.
Meanwhile, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin will serve as the Leader of Opposition in the newly formed Assembly, while senior leader KN Nehru will be his deputy.
The Speaker of the Assembly will be elected on Tuesday, with the post expected to go to the TVK, which emerged as the single-largest party in the recently concluded elections.
The strength of the Tamil Nadu Assembly currently stands at 233 after Chief Minister Vijay decided to retain his Perambur seat and vacate the Tiruchi East seat.