The Tamil Nadu government has appointed Rickey Pandit Vettrivel as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Chief Minister (Political). The terms and conditions of his appointment are expected to be issued later.

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Reacting to the appointment, VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan said, “I have learnt that he is also the spokesperson. He may be an astrologer, but I believe the appointment may have been done on the basis of him being a spokesperson in the party. It is one thing to believe in astrology and another thing to be inclined towards communal politics. Not all believers of astrology indulge in communal politics.”

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CPI(M) state secretary P. Shanmugam said that it was unacceptable to appoint an astrologer as the Officer-on-Duty (Politics) to the Chief Minister. “It is the duty of the government to develop scientific temper. But Mr. Vettrivel is basically an astrologer. Appointing him to a government post with a government salary will only increase people’s faith in astrology,” Mr. Shanmugam said in a social media post.

Citing the works of national poet Subramania Bharati, which “scorn astrology,” he added it would, be unacceptable acceptable if Mr. Vettrivel were to offer political advice.