CHENNAI: A controversy erupted at the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation after Mayor R Ranganayaki, a DMK leader, reportedly refused to place the official portrait of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay inside her office chamber, said a Daily Thanthi report.
The chamber now has the portraits of DMK leaders, while Vijay’s photo is displayed only in the space outside.
After the TVK government came to power and Vijay took charge as the chief minister, the Tamil Nadu government released the official photograph of the chief minister through the Information and Public Relations Department for display in all government offices across the State.
Following the practice, framed portraits of the chief minister were installed in the offices of the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and meeting halls at the corporation office.
The portrait was also meant to be placed in the rooms of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, standing committee chairpersons, and zonal committee heads.
While Deputy Mayor R Vetriselvan, also belonging to the DMK, reportedly raised no objection, Mayor Ranganayaki opposed displaying the photograph inside her chamber.
At present, portraits of former chief ministers, M Karunanidhi and MK Stalin, former deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, and former ministers KN Nehru and V Senthilbalaji are already displayed inside the Mayor’s office, the report said.
Explaining her stand, Ranganayaki said the portraits of her party leaders could not be removed from her chamber, they gave her “motivation”. She added that the chief minister’s photograph had been placed outside the room, and said she would not allow it inside her chamber until the end of her tenure in January 2027.
The report added that several zonal and standing committee heads also objected to placing the chief minister’s portrait in their offices, leading to tension and heated discussions at the corporation office on Tuesday.