A day after chief minister C Joseph Vijay was sworn in as chief minister, all the 234 MLAs, including Vijay, took oath as MLAs on Monday in the Tamil Nadu assembly.
Oath-Taking Ceremony
Vijay, leader of opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, former chief minister O Panneerselvam, and TVK leaders took oath in the assembly. A few MLAs, including former AIADMK minister C Ve Shanmugam, took oath in the chamber of pro-tem speaker M V Karuppiah.
Vijay, who attended the session in a suit similar to the one he wore during his swearing-in as CM on Sunday, was the first to take oath. While he swore on God a day earlier, this time he took oath by his conscience. Udhayanidhi and EPS were the next to take oath. TVK ministers N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, Arun Raj, K A Sengottaiyan, and other MLAs followed suit.
First-Time MLAs and Notable Moments
Several MLAs were first-timers, including DMDK general secretary Premallatha Vijayakant and AIADMK's Leema Rose Martin. After taking oath, Premallatha stepped towards Vijay, who was seated in the front row, and greeted him. Vijay rose from his seat and greeted her back. Leema, on the other hand, greeted her son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna.
Udhayanidhi Stalin chose not to greet Vijay, and so did many DMK MLAs, including Senthil Balaji.
Emotional and Political Scenes
The swearing-in ceremony, which lasted more than four hours, witnessed a wide range of scenes, from MLAs raising slogans to MLAs breaking down in remembrance of their leaders. Two MDMK MLAs from Kadaiyanallur and Sirkazhi assembly constituencies, wearing the signature black and red towel of their party general secretary Vaiko, raised slogans in favor of social justice and Tamil Nadu. Some DMK MLAs raised slogans praising former chief minister M K Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin.
AIADMK MLA from Panruti constituency K Mohan broke down on seeing the portrait of former CM Jayalalithaa in the assembly after taking oath. Similarly, TVK MLA from Tiruppur North V Sathyabama also paid respect to Jayalalithaa before swearing in as an MLA.
Family Presence
Three daughters of PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss were present in the house to witness their mother Sowmiya Anbumani taking oath as MLA. Sowmiya's father and former TNCC president M Krishnasamy told reporters outside the assembly that though he was from a rival alliance, he came there as a father to see his daughter as an MLA.
