Tamil Nadu MLA Keerthana Fails to Take Oath Due to Lack of Certificate of Election

Chennai : A day after the swearing-in ceremony of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and his ministers, Keerthana, the youngest MLA in Vijay’s cabinet, was unable to take oath as an MLA in the State Assembly on Monday after she failed to present her Certificate of Election, a mandatory requirement for administering the oath. A clip from the session’s proceedings shows that when Assembly Principal Secretary K. Srinivasan invited Keerthana, announcing her name over the microphone, to take the oath, she walked to the podium, which was positioned in front of the chair of the Chief Minister on one side. MLAs taking the oath are required to face the chair of the pro tem Speaker. As Keerthana approached the podium, Srinivasan raised his hand and asked for the certificate. However, she was unable to produce it. Let us know! 👂 What type of content would you like to see from us this year? "It seems she did not have her Certificate of Election with her readily. Since she could not submit the certificate, the senior official politely declined to allow her to take oath. She may take oath whenever she submits her Certificate of Election," news agency PTI quoted an official as saying. Keerthana is elected from the Sivakasi constituency. She defeated Congress candidate Ashokan G by 11,670 votes, while former minister and AIADMK leader KT Rajenthra Bhalaji finished third. Meanwhile, Vijay on Sunday resigned from the Tiruchirappalli East Assembly constituency after taking oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, retaining the Perambur seat that he also won in the April 23 Assembly elections. With Vijay vacating one of the two seats he had secured, his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) saw its tally in the 234-member Assembly reduce from 108 to 107 seats.