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  • 2 days ago
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has revoked the appointment of a personal astrologer as an Officer on Special Duty. The decision follows backlash from allied parties and opposition leaders, who unanimously objected to placing an astrologer on the government payroll.
Transcript
00:00Breaking news coming in, big decision that has now been taken by Vijay where his astrologer's appointment has been revoked
00:06after how it was objected upon.
00:11Vicky Radhan Pandit Vetrivel's appointment as OSD to Chief Minister Vijay has now been revoked.
00:18This is a big decision that has been taken after the DMDK created an obstruction and objected to the CM's
00:26decision to appoint his astrologer in government office.
00:30Vijay who also said on the floor of the house just a short while ago in Tamil Nadu Assembly that
00:36he will reconsider that decision.
00:38And now this is just coming in of how the astrologer's appointment has been revoked by Vijay.
00:45Rikki Radhan Pandit whose appointment as OSD to CM Vijay has been revoked.
00:50Let me take this to Anugha joining us on the broadcast.
00:52Anugha, the news break first in India today of how the astrologer's appointment has been revoked.
00:58Vijay taking into consideration the objection that was raised.
01:05That's right. In fact, shortly after the assembly proceedings, this order copy that India today has been able to access
01:11says that Rikki Radhan Pandit Vetrivel,
01:14who has formally been appointed as the OSD to Chief Minister, that order copy has been revoked.
01:19In fact, on the floor of the house, there was a lot of controversy that had snowballed with the DMDK's
01:26Chief Premalata Vijay Khan also picking up this issue.
01:29And she was also backed by other ally parties like the VCK, the IUML and a lot of the opposition
01:36parties who were siding with DMK.
01:37They had all unanimously called for a scientific approach and not really back concepts like astrology and back concepts like
01:44superstition.
01:45And therefore, Vijay had also said on the floor of the assembly that he will consider this.
01:49After hearing the opinion of Premalata, Chief Mr. Vijay said that he will reconsider that move.
01:54And as soon as the assembly session concluded, an order copy was passed revoking the appointment of astrologer Rikki Radhan
02:02Pandit Vetrivel as the OSD to Vijay.
02:04Remember, even if you take a look at his track record, you can hear things that he has said, extremely
02:08questionable things like chant mantras and cure heart attack.
02:12Chant mantras and avert diseases and even death.
02:15That's the kind of track record that he holds.
02:17It's a good move on the Tamil Nadu government to have withdrawn this after sufficient backlash that they faced.
02:23They've immediately taken action on this and have revoked the appointment of Rikki Radhan Pandit Vetrivel as the OSD.
02:30Absolutely, Anaka.
02:31And let's not forget, this was rather an emotional one for Vijay who had his trust placed in the astrologer.
02:39We all understand how Vijay has really moved very carefully through the Tamil Nadu elections and emerged victorious.
02:47And this was not an easy victory to achieve in his debut.
02:50But he really took every step very carefully and astrology is something that he believes in very strongly.
02:57So, not an easy decision that Vijay may have taken for him especially personally.
03:02But on the official front, yes, a good message that he puts out.
03:08Anaka.
03:13Well, in fact, you're right.
03:15In fact, the astrologer has been in touch with Vijay for a long time.
03:20He has been an astrologer to Vijay on a personal level.
03:23In fact, a lot of opposition leaders also stated that it's okay to believe in astrology.
03:27But on a personal level, he shouldn't really be on a government payroll.
03:31He shouldn't be a government officer.
03:33That is a move that was questioned by the opposition leaders.
03:36And now, they have been successful in ensuring that the government revokes this order.
03:41The order was passed 24 hours back.
03:44And today, after facing a lot of backlash, Vijay has decided to revoke that order of appointing the astrologer as
03:51the OSD.
03:51In fact, the justification that was given by TVK as to why they appointed is that just don't look at
03:57him from the lens of an astrologer.
03:58He's also our media person.
04:00And that's why we've given him this role was the explanation that was given by TVK.
04:04But the Chief Minister has certainly done the right thing by taking the opinions of opposition parties and a lot
04:10of people in his approach as well.
04:12As soon as he faced backlash, he decided to revoke that order.
04:17Actually, in the kind of criticism that came in from Vijay's rivals who also went on to say that why
04:23should public funds be used to pay for your astrologer's salary?
04:27And that was certainly a point that was taken into consideration.
04:30Like we are saying, Anagha, not an easy decision for Vijay to take.
04:33But the fact that he is making his debut not just in politics but is Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
04:43And it was important that he puts out the right message.
04:46Ricky Radhan's appointment that has now been revoked.
04:49And are we seeing that controversy settle now, which had been gaining momentum especially since the last two days?
05:01Certainly, now that the order has been revoked, the controversy will die down.
05:05The opposition party leaders raised it on the floor of the House.
05:08And now that Vijay has listened to them and revoked the order, the controversy will certainly die down very soon.
05:16Also, good move by the current government in taking into account what was said in the Assembly and revoking that
05:22order.
05:22Because at the end of the day, he is an astrologer who will be on government's payroll, which is a
05:28questionable move indeed.
05:29And the opposition leaders have stated that you can have him in your personal capacity.
05:33But having him on government's payroll, giving him an officer's post is unwarranted and unnecessary.
05:39Raised a lot of questions about the astrologer's credibility, what background does he hold and things like that.
05:44Even if you do take a look at his previous videos, you can listen to him say things like,
05:49you can cure heart attack using mantras and extremely superstitious, baseless, unscientific, things like that.
05:55And therefore, Vijay, after facing enough backlash, has decided to revoke that order.
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