Senior Congress leader S Peter Alphonse was on Tuesday named as the chairman of State Minorities Commission, Tamil Nadu by Chief Minister M K Stalin. Alphonse, a three-time MLA and a former Rajya Sabha member, is known to enjoy close relations with the DMK, an ally of the Congress.
In a statement, Stalin said he has reconstituted the State Minorities Commission and has appointed Alphonse as its chairman. The commission is aimed at safeguarding the interests of both religious and linguistic minorities in the state.
Alphonse’ appointment as chief of the minorities commission has political undertones as it is being interpreted as Stalin’s way of keeping his ally Congress happy. The national party has been an ally of the DMK since 2004 – both parties have contested all elections from 2004 to 2021 barring the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Alphonse, a staunch loyalist of late Congress veteran G K Moopanar, was close to late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi. The senior Congress leader had represented Tenkasi and Kadayanallur assembly constituencies in the past and was Rajya Sabha once.
(Published 29 June 2021, 15:49 IST)
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