A Tamil Nadu minister has come in for criticism after he held a photograph of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa against the coffin of a soldier who died in the Siachen avalanche on Tuesday. The display of party loyalty came when he went to the funeral to hand over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh on behalf of the government to the soldier's family, reported NDTV. Sellur Raju reportedly held the photo against the coffin and then gestured to the soldier's weeping mother to take a look at the person who should be credited for the government aid. Sepoy G Ganesan's mother then folded her hands in gratitude. The funeral was held in Madurai on Tuesday.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party is going all out to gain maximum mileage for the CM as the state elections are scheduled to be held later this year. The ruling party drew flak during the Chennai floods when party workers wasted time in sticking the CM's photos on relief material before sending them out to people.