State Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam broke down here on Monday while taking oath as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) had on Sunday unanimously selected O. Panneerselvam to succeed J. Jayalalithaa, who stands disqualified as the state's chief minister after her conviction in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case.
Jayalalithaa was sentenced to four years in jail and asked to pay a fine Rs.100 crores by a Bangalore Special Court on Saturday.
She has now moved the Karnataka High Court challenging her conviction in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets case.
The verdict against 'Amma', as she is popularly known, resulted in violent protests by the AIADMK cadres leading to stone pelting and self immolation attempts to express their outrage against the verdict.
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Some 16 people have committed suicide in Tamil Nadu after she was sent to jail, according to reports.
Jayalalithaa was declared guilty of amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income under Sections 109 and 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Her three other co-accused-one time close aide Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi and her nephew and disowned foster son Sudhakaran were asked to pay fines of Rs.10 crores each and sentenced to serve jail terms of six months each.
