IT minister loses AIADMK district secretary post

Madurai: Chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday removed state minister for information technology M Manikandan from his party post of Ramanathapuram district secretary. He has been replaced by M A Muniasamy. A party release said Manikandan would, however, continue to hold the post of deputy secretary of the AIADMK's doctors' wing.
Sources say the minister's high-handedness with party colleagues and local rivalry could have contributed to his being removed from the influential party post.A party source said Manikandan's disrespectful attitude towards Ramanathapuram MP A Anwar Raja, a prominent leader in the district, at a function, could have been a factor.
Many other functionaries in Ramanathapuram have also been replaced in Thursday's shuffle. Some of the new functionaries include Mudukulathor union secretary M Murugan, Kamudhi union secretary S P Kalimuthu and Kadaladi union MGR wing union secretary B Saravanan.