Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

Chennai, Aug 27: In a rare departure from Assembly convention, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay on Thursday left his designated seat and briefly sat among his cabinet colleagues, with a video of the unusual gesture going viral on social media.

Vijay initially occupied the chair allotted to the Chief Minister, positioned on the right side of Speaker J C D Prabhakar. However, during the afternoon session, he moved to the ministers' row and sat between Minister and Leader of the House K A Sengottaiyan and Minister Aadhav Arjuna.

Videos circulating on social media showed Vijay interacting with the ministers while seated alongside them.

The Chief Minister's move is considered unusual as a separate, spacious chair close to the Speaker's Chair is traditionally reserved for the CM. Ministers sit alongside the Chief Minister in designated seats according to their seniority.

The seats opposite the ministers' row are occupied by the Leader of the Opposition and leaders of various legislature parties based on their numerical strength.

According to reporters, citing sources, no other Tamil Nadu Chief Minister had previously occupied a seat designated for ministers.

Vijay arrived at the Assembly after attending government programmes earlier in the day.

He also chaired a high-level review meeting on the rescue and evacuation of Tamil Nadu residents stranded in Nepal following massive flash floods.

According to reporters, 103 people from Tamil Nadu had travelled to Nepal in two groups. The first group comprised 54 people from Tamil Nadu and three from Puducherry, while the second group consisted of 49 people from Tamil Nadu.

Vijay, who has completed more than 100 days as Chief Minister, has made several major announcements and his government has introduced key Bills in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Among the prominent decisions announced by his government are measures concerning milk producers, legislators, healthcare and women government employees.

Earlier this month, the government announced that maternity leave for women government employees having a third child would be increased from 12 weeks to 365 days.

The government also increased Aavin's milk procurement price from Rs 38 to Rs 41 per litre, a move expected to benefit more than 3.16 lakh milk producers.

In another major announcement concerning legislators, Vijay said all MLAs would be provided government vehicles along with a monthly package of Rs 1 lakh.

The package comprises Rs 75,000 towards fuel, vehicle maintenance and driver expenses, and Rs 25,000 for an assistant to handle office-related work.

Vijay's unusual seating arrangement in the Assembly has since attracted considerable attention online, adding to the public interest surrounding the TVK leader's functioning as Chief Minister.