Tamil Nadu: Senthil Balaji, Ponmudy step down as ministers

In Tamil Nadu, two prominent faces from council of ministers, Dr K Ponmudy and V Senthil Balaji resigned from their positions as cabinet ministers on Sunday. While K Ponmudy’s resignation comes in the wake of his controversial remarks on Shaivism-Vaishnavism, V Senthil Balaji resigned after the Supreme Court (SC) gave him an ultimatum. It may be noted that earlier, a Supreme Court directive on April 23 required Senthil Balaji to choose between holding office and retaining bail in the cash-for-jobs scam case in which he is a prime accused. The top court had asked Balaji to choose between his "post and freedom," warning that his bail could be cancelled if he did not step down as minister.
A Raj Bhavan press release on Sunday 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. Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in June 2023 in connection with a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam, was granted bail by the Supreme Court in September last year. Although he had resigned from the Cabinet while in jail, Balaji was reinstated after securing bail. The Supreme Court found his reinstatement troubling, citing the serious nature of the charges against him.  Ponmudy is facing legal action over a controversial speech allegedly targeting Saivites, Vaishnavites, and women. Last week, the Madras High Court registered a suo motu case against the DMK leader, observing that the speech “prima facie appeared to be hate speech”.
Transport Minister SS Sivasankar will now handle the electricity portfolio, previously held by Senthil Balaji. Housing Minister S Muthusamy has been assigned the Excise and Prohibition portfolio, also previously held by Balaji. According to the government, RS Rajakannappan will take on Ponmudy's responsibilities for Forests and Khadi, in addition to his existing Milk and Dairy Development portfolio.