Two prominent faces from Tamil Nadu council of ministers, Dr K Ponmudy and V Senthil Balaji resigned from their positions as cabinet ministers on Sunday, April 27. While K Ponmudy’s resignation comes in the wake of his on Shaivism-Vaishnavism, V Senthil Balaji resigned after the Supreme Court (SC) gave him an ultimatum to choose between ministership and his freedom.
It may be noted that earlier, a Supreme Court on April 23 required Senthil Balaji to choose between holding office and retaining in the cash-for-jobs scam case in which he is a prime accused.
A Raj Bhavan press release dated April 27, said Chief Minister MK Stalin has recommended to Governor RN Ravi to accept the resignation of V Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy and the Governor, in turn, has approved the recommendation.
The Governor also approved the allocation of portfolios and subjects to other ministries. Transport Minister S S Sivasankar has been designated as Minister for Transport and Electricity. S Muthusamy has been designated as Minister for Housing and Prohibition and Excise. R S Rajakannapan will be Minister for Forest and Khadi.
Further, Mano Thangaraj has also been inducted into the cabinet on the recommendation of the Chief Minister. The swearing-in-ceremony will take place on April 28, at the Raj Bhavan.
Senthil Balaji’s resignation & the SC’s ultimatum
The resignation of Senthil Balaji comes in the backdrop of SC granting time until April 28 to Senthil Balaji to make his decision– to either give up his office or to have his bail cancelled in the cash-for-jobs scam.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and AG Masih passed the order while hearing an application by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking the recall of Senthil Balaji’s bail on the grounds that he might use his ministerial position to influence witnesses in the case. The DMK leader was granted bail on September 26, 2024, after 14 months of incarceration. Just three days later, he was into the cabinet as Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Electricity, Excise, and Prohibition.
During an earlier hearing, the top court had him saying, “We grant bail, and the next day, you go and become a minister! Anybody will be bound to be under the impression that witnesses will be under pressure.”
On April 23, the bench had said, “We are giving him a choice. Freedom or post? There are findings recorded in the reported judgement of the court attributing a role to him in the predicate offence as minister. The judgement of the Madras High Court records how, as a minister, you tried to influence witnesses by entering into a settlement with them, based on which proceedings were quashed.”
On June 14, 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at Senthil Balaji’s residences in Chennai and Karur, as well as his office at the Secretariat. He was interrogated in connection with the cash-for-jobs scam, which allegedly took place during his tenure as Transport Minister in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government. After several hours of interrogation, Balaji was and sent to judicial custody.
At the time, he complained of chest pain, and a medical investigation found that he had three blocks in his coronary artery. He subsequently underwent angioplasty at a private hospital and was later transferred back to Puzhal Central Prison after recovery.
Senthil Balaji left the AIADMK and joined the DMK in December 2018, where he was appointed the party’s district secretary. He contested the Aravakurichi by-election in 2019 and won again in the 2021 Assembly elections, and then was appointed Minister for Electricity and Excise in Chief Minister MK Stalin’s cabinet.
Ponmudy’s resignation
Ponmudy, on the other hand, had made crude sexual remarks on Shaivites and Vaishnavites at an event on April 10. His comments invited severe criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as from the DMK. He was also removed from the position of deputy general secretary of the DMK.
The Madras High Court had also directed Tamil Nadu police to register an FIR against K Ponmduy for his derogatory speech. .
Earlier, Ponmudy had made headlines after his controversial remarks at Bharathiar University’s convocation event. At the event in Coimbatore, he said that those who “speak” in Hindi” are engaged in “selling pani puri.” “While English is an international language, Tamil is a local language. We were told that learning Hindi could land us with jobs. Is that so? You go and see in our state and in Coimbatore. Who are those people who sell pani puris?,” the Minister had asked.
