Rosaiah has come a long way

CHENNAI: Veteran politician K Rosaiah was on Wednesday sworn in as Governor of Tamil Nadu at Raj Bhavan here as Chief Justice of Madras High Court Justice M Y Eqbal administered the oath of office. A Congress leader of Andhra Pradesh who has vast political and ministerial experience, Rosaiah was born to a middle-class agricultural family from Vemuru, Guntur, on July 4, 1933. He did his graduation in Commerce and was active in politics even during his student days. Starting as a student leader in 1952 at the Hindu College, Guntur, he rose to the level of the Chief Minister of AP after the sudden demise of the then CM Y S Rajasekara Reddy.Besides serving as a Member of the AP Legislative Council, MLA and MP, Rosaiah brings with him rich experience in almost all key departments. He has held several portfolios including Home, Finance, Housing, Power, Transport, Roads and Buildings, Handlooms and Textiles and Medical and Health.Rosaiah became the CM following Rajasekhara Reddy’s death in a helicopter crash. As Chief Minister, he had to face the twin challenges posed by Telangana movement and dissident leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. He was succeeded by Kiran Kumar Reddy.In a brief interaction with journalists at Raj Bhavan, the new Governor read out a few Tamil sentences transliterated in Telugu. He said he was very happy to have taken up the role of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, a State which plays a key role in the politics of the country. He recalled that till 1953, Chennai (then Madras) was the capital of both TN and AP and his political career had begun at that time. Veteran politicians in the State encouraged youngsters like him very much, he said.After the swearing-in, CM J Jayalalithaa introduced her Cabinet to the Governor, and top officials and others greeted the new Governor with bouquets and shawls. Later, the CM had tea with the him over a 20-minute meeting.Well-known personalities from AP, including actor-turned politician Chiranjeevi and industrialist and M P Subbirami Reddy, were among those present.Just an hour before Rosaiah’s arrival, outgoing Governor Surjit Singh Barnala was given an affectionate send off at the airport, when he left for Delhi by an Indian Airlines flight. Barnala and his family were seen off by senior Ministers including O Panneerselvam, K A Sengottaiyan and R Viswanathan.But, there was hardly any noise or media attention at the VIP gate. Arriving a half hour before his 10.40 am flight, he is said to have accepted the salute from the waiting guard of honour before boarding the plane. Even police protection was low compared to the battalion of personnel on duty when Jayalalithaa arrived to receive the new Governor a couple of hours later.