Senthilbalaji, Ponmudy resign as Tamil Nadu Ministers after strong remarks from courts
The Hindu
Tamil Nadu Forest and Electricity Ministers resign amid controversy, new Cabinet members to be sworn in.
Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K. Ponmudy and Electricity, Prohibition and Excise Minister V. Senthilbalaji resigned on Sunday (April 27, 2025) night.
A Raj Bhavan release said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has recommended Governor R.N. Ravi to accept their resignation. The Chief Minister also recommended the induction of former Minister Mano Thangaraj into the Cabinet. The swearing-in will be held on April 28 at the Raj Bhavan.
Also Read | Supreme Court takes stern view of reinstating Senthilbalaji as Tamil Nadu Cabinet Minister
In the wake of their resignations, Mr. Ponmudy’s department has been allotted to Milk and Dairy Development Minister R.S. Rajakannappan. Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar will hold the portfolio of Electricity, while Housing and Urban Development Minister S. Muthusamy will hold Prohibition and Excise departments held by Mr. Senthilbalaji.
The continuation of Mr. Ponmudy and Mr. Senthibalaji became untenable after courts made strong remarks against them.
In the case of Mr. Senthilbalaji, the Supreme Court made it clear that he had to make a choice between his Minister post and freedom. This is the second time he is stepping down as a Minister. Though he continued as a Minister without portfolio after his arrest in June 2023 by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, he resigned from the Cabinet on February 12, 2024. He was reinstated after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the case on September 26, 2024.
But a Supreme Court Bench took objection to his induction into the Cabinet and Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan on April 23 said Mr. Senthilbalaji’s continuation as a Minister placed him in a position of influence with regard to witnesses, and he could derail the trial.
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