Chennai: Tamilnadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has said he never “even dreamt” of reaching the top post and credited his “gradual” growth in politics to his “loyalty” to the late CM J Jayalalithaa. He was addressing members of Tamil diaspora in New York on Tuesday after launching a scheme to attract investments from Tamils living abroad.
“As far as I am concerned, I have come up one step in politics. I had never even dreamt of becoming chief minister. Still, (I have) got an opportunity,” he said. The text of Palaniswami’s address was released by the State government here.
“I gradually grew because of the loyalty to Amma (Jayalalithaa),” he added. Palaniswami reached the top post in 2017 in the face of a revolt by then Chief Minister O Panneerselvam against deposed leader V K Sasikala, after she was made leader of the AIADMK legislature to succeed Jayalalithaa to lead the State. Sasikala was Jayalalithaa’s close aide. The AIADMK supremo died in December 2016 following prolonged hospitalisation.
Prior to becoming CM, Palaniswami was a senior Minister in the Jayalalithaa-led cabinet, holding among others, the Highways portfolio. Showcasing his State as an investor-friendly destination, Palaniswami assured his government will give a “grand welcome” to Tamils living abroad intending to invest in Tamilnadu.
He assured business-friendly steps for the diaspora Tamils to invest in the State, including single window clearance system, peaceful atmosphere, good infrastructure and uninterrupted power supply. Recalling the Global Investors Meet (GIM 2019) held here in January, Palasniswami said it had attracted investment commitments worth Rs 3 lakh crore, adding 220 firms have “started the investments.”
Hailing Tamils for their hard work and dedication, he said these attributes had made them successful wherever they went, and urged the members of the diaspora to make significant investments in Tamilnadu. Earlier, at an investors meet in New York in the US, over 16 firms had signed Memorandum of Understanding to invest Rs 2,780 crore in Tamilnadu in various fields.
Palaniswami embarked on a three-nation tour last week, saying the visit was aimed at garnering more foreign investments for Tamilnadu. Earlier, he had visited the UK and will stop over in Dubai en route to India, where he will meet potential investors. He is scheduled to return home on 10 September.