Hopes of Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister Jayalalithaa visit to secretariat not materialised

CHENNAI: Expectations fuelled by AIADMK's publicity blitz that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa would visit the state secretariat today to give appointment orders to 1,016 assistant professors did not materialise even as Opposition parties continued to seek information on her health.

In a full page advertisement today in AIADMK party mouthpiece 'Dr Namadhu MGR', Higher Education Minister P Palaniappan "welcomed" Jayalalithaa for giving appointment orders to 1,016 assistant professors of Arts and Science colleges.

There was no mention of time, date or venue for the event on the advertisement.

Huge flex banners placed by party workers welcoming Jayalalithaa strongly indicated that she was expected to visit the secretariat today.

However, there was no official communication from the state secretariat office.

On July 1, in a similar fashion, huge flex boards of party men welcomed Jayalalithaa to an Iftar party hosted by the AIADMK.

Soon after, she had issued a message on the same day saying, "I have a sudden illness" and could not make it to the event.

DMK chief Karunanidhi today demanded to know about her health status and even advised her to "take rest."

Expressing concern, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief EVKS Elangovan too sought information on her health status today.

Jayalalithaa has not visited the secretariat after July 4, the day she formally took oath as MLA of RK Nagar and later presided over signing of an MoU with Adani group on a power generation project.