Senthil, Ponmudy resign from Tamil Nadu cabinet in rejig
Tamil Nadu ministers Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy on Sunday stepped down from the chief minister MK Stalin-led state cabinet, with the move necessitating a cabinet reshuffle.
Governor RN Ravi approved chief minister Stalin's recommendation on their resignation, a communique from the Raj Bhavan said. The resignations came days after Senthil Balaji, facing ED probe in a cash-for-jobs case in an earlier AIADMK regime, was asked by the Supreme Court on Wednesday to make a choice 'between post and freedom' as it had warned him of cancelling bail if he did not step down as minister.
'When you were a minister, categorical findings have been recorded against you in the manner in which you brought about settlement and the proceedings are quashed. Grant of bail does not mean power to influence witnesses. In the past, you have influenced witnesses,' the bench had said. The top court, as a result, offered him a choice.
'So, you have to make a choice between the post and the freedom. Such drastic findings are recorded against you in capacity as a minister,' the bench had said while hearing pleas to recall Balaji's bail on the ground that he influenced witnesses in the case.
Balaji was sworn in as a minister by Ravi on September 29, 2024 after being granted bail by the SC. He earlier resigned in February 2024, months after remaining as a minister without portfolio in the wake of his June 2023 arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Upon his re-induction last year, he was assigned the same key portfolios — electricity, non-conventional energy development, prohibition and excise that he held previously in the Stalin cabinet.
Ponmudy, a senior Darvida Munnetra Kazhgam leader, courted a major controversy recently over his Shaivite-Vaishnavite remarks, drawing widespread criticism, even as the Madras high court later initiated proceedings on its own on the matter.
Though he was removed from a key party post, there were demands from opposition parties and other quarters, for his ouster from the cabinet.
Transport minister S S Sivasankar will handle Electricity portfolio, held by Senthil Balaji. Further, housing minister S Muthusamy has been allotted excise and prohibition, also held by Senthil Balaji.
RS Rajakannappan has been allotted Ponmudy's forests and Khadi, in addition to his existing milk and dairy development portfolio, the release said.
Further, the Governor has accepted the CM's recommendation to include Padmanabhapuram MLA T Mano Thangaraj in the cabinet, it said. He was dropped in an earlier rejig of the cabinet.
The swearing-in of the minister designate will be held at 6pm on Monday, it added.
Responding to the development, principal opposition party AIADMK said Ponmudy stepping down was a victory for its various protests against him.
Balaji's exit was a 'justice' ensured through the court, it said on its official 'X' handle.
BJP state vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy said, 'Removal of Senthil Balaji & Ponmudi from Tamil Nadu ministry is expected though late.' 'It is not a shame on them but on chief minister MK Stalin for his misrule, corrupt government, maladministration & mismanagement,' he said in a social media update.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Shine City fraud case: More trouble brewing as ED mulls 7th charge sheet
Accused of defrauding several hundred crores of rupees from their investors, Shine City proprietors are all set to find themselves in another legal soup. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will be filing its seventh charge sheet in the case against chief managing director (CMD) Rashid Naseem, some women relatives and seven others for their alleged connivance in swindling the investors' money, confirmed senior ED officials. On May 1, the 'kingpin' Rashid Naseem was declared a fugitive economic offender. The ED is working to extradite him from Dubai. (For representation) They said the seventh charge sheet would also include the name of a woman closely associated with Naseem, who has been absconding. Others to be named were three of his relatives, some family friends and four of his close friends. These individuals owned properties in Delhi, Gautambuddha Nagar (Noida) and Mumbai, which have been identified by the ED. They said the ED has collected evidence against these accused individuals, including statements and property records. The ED's investigation revealed that Naseem and his associates misappropriated billions of rupees and created movable and immovable properties. They said the company allegedly collected the amount from its investors through various real estate projects but failed to deliver the promised flats or refund the money. Over 554 FIRs have been registered against Naseem and others, based on which the ED initiated its investigation. On May 1, the 'kingpin', Rashid Naseem, was declared a fugitive economic offender. The ED is working to extradite him from Dubai. On June 17, the ED attached properties worth ₹ 55.07 lakh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in the case. The attached properties are in the form of bank balance held in the account of Mohammad Javed, a resident of Allahabad. The ED investigation identified the fund trail and revealed that the money collected from customers was layered through multiple transactions, transferred, and ultimately diverted to close associates of the group. One such associate was Javed, who was found to have received a substantial portion of the diverted funds. The ED had earlier conducted search operations at 18 locations, leading to the recovery of significant digital evidence, incriminating documents related to money laundering, and details of immovable and movable properties. So far, assets worth approximately Rs.264 crore have been provisionally attached, and eight individuals have been arrested in the case. Also, the ED has filed Six Prosecution Complaints (PCs) against 38 entities and individuals and all of which have been taken into cognisance by the Special Court.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
ED raids Himachal Pradesh assistance drug controller for bribery, extortion
NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate on Sunday conducted searches against a Himachal Pradesh assistant drug controller, Nishant Sareen, in bribery and extortion cases linked to the charge of him misusing his official position. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The anti-money laundering agency is also probing "political patronage" to Sareen who after being removed as Baddi assistant drug controller on allegations of bribery in 2019 was reinstated and posted by the new Himachal Pradesh govt as Dharamshala assistant drug controller in 2024. In Oct 25, 2019, he was released on bail in the Baddi corruption case in which trial is pending. The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau and police had filed a chargesheet under the Prevention of Corruption Act in this case and arrested him in Sept 2019. Sareen was accused of receiving bribes from pharmaceutical companies based in Baddi, a pharma hub in the state. Komal Khanna, an associate of Sareen, was also accused of corruption and was made an accused in the chargesheet. Five residential and commercial premises linked to Sareen, his father-in-law Ramesh Kumar Gupta and Khanna in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab were searched on Sunday. ED is probing allegations of political patronage and complaints of extortion and bribery against Sareen in his present role as Dharamshala assistant drug controller too, sources said.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Cooperative department to start recovery proceedings in BSNL Engineers' Cooperative Society fraud case
Thiruvananthapuram: Cooperative department will soon begin revenue recovery proceedings against the accused in the deposit fraud surrounding BSNL Engineers' Cooperative Society. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The department registrar has directed the joint registrar to proceed with it by issuing a final order as per Section 68 (2) of Kerala Cooperative Societies Act. Before beginning the recovery proceedings, the accused were given over 30 days to explain their part. A total of 19 people, including cooperative society president, secretary, board members and staff members at the society, are accused of siphoning off crores of rupees through various irregularities. An inquiry conducted under Section 68 (1) of Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, found that a fraud worth Rs 360 crore took place at the society as the accused diverted the funds of depositors for their personal investments. By taking huge loans in benami names without proper guarantees, the accused bought properties in various places. The department identified the properties and also provisionally attached them as a preliminary measure. "We will begin recovery proceedings of the properties which were provisionally attached. A request will be sent to the district collector with the details of the properties to begin recovery measures," said an officer of the department. Meanwhile, the depositors' forum alleged that the enforcement directorate (ED) has not yet held a sitting in Thiruvananthapuram to record the statements of depositors. "Recently, high court handed over the probe to ED asking to complete the probe in a year. ED was also directed to hold a sitting in Thiruvananthapuram. However, they directed 35 complainants to reach Kochi and recorded their statements. There are more than thousand depositors who lost money and most of them are unable to travel to Kochi to give statements. The police investigation is also not progressing," said a depositor. Vanchiyoor police registered as many as 1,094 cases over the fraud so far and the cases were later handed over to the economic offences wing of crime branch.
