Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, whose house was searched by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) 10 days ago in connection with the gutkha scam, was on Friday appointed one of the organising secretaries of the ruling AIADMK. The decision was taken at a party meeting in which party coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and co-coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami held consultations with senior colleagues at the AIADMK head office here.
The Chief Minister recently defended the Health Minister arguing that mere allegations were not enough to hold him guilty.
At the party meeting, it was decided to appoint P.H. Pandian, former Assembly Speaker and one of those who took on former interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala immediately after the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in December 2016, as party’s legal advisor.