Tamil Nadu Ministers V Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy have resigned from the M K Stalin-led state cabinet. Senthil Balaji, facing an ED probe, was asked by the Supreme Court to choose between his post and freedom, while Ponmudy courted controversy over his Shaivite-Vaishnavite remarks. The Governor has accepted their resignations and a new minister will be sworn in on Monday.
The Supreme Court has criticized the Tamil Nadu government for implicating over 2000 individuals in the cash-for-jobs scam involving former minister V Senthil Balaji, demanding details of all accused and witnesses.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at multiple locations in Tamil Nadu on Thursday as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), including the purported role of its minister Senthil Balaji. The raids covered the offices of TASMAC, its employees, corporate offices of distilleries and plants, as well as "key associates" linked to Balaji, but not the minister's premises. The ED is looking into liquor sale transactions and the role of alleged middlemen in connection with TASMAC. Balaji, the minister for electricity, is also in charge of TASMAC, which holds a monopoly over liquor trade in the state. The agency is also investigating Balaji's role in an earlier money laundering case linked to the "cash for jobs scam" in the state transport department. He was arrested in that case but is currently out on bail.
Balaji was arrested on June 14 last year by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam when he was the transport minister in an earlier AIADMK government.
The Supreme Court of India has asked DMK leader V Senthil Balaji to choose between his ministerial post in Tamil Nadu and his freedom. The court expressed concern over Balaji's reinstatement as a minister despite being granted bail in a money laundering case related to the "cash-for-job" scam. The court fears that Balaji's presence as a minister could influence witnesses in the case. The court has given Balaji until April 28 to make a decision.
TVK chief Vijay was questioned by the CBI for six hours in connection with the Karur stampede case. The investigation is ongoing, with the CBI gathering evidence and analyzing statements to determine responsibility.
The Supreme Court of India expressed concern over the appointment of DMK leader V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government despite pending money laundering cases against him. The court questioned the state government's decision, stating it is "terribly wrong" to appoint a person as a minister while facing legal proceedings. The matter has been adjourned to January 15, 2025.
The Madras high court on Friday upheld the arrest of Minister V Senthil Balaji by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case and his subsequent remand in judicial custody by a sessions court.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, however, refused to interfere with the September 26 order of the apex court granting bail to Balaji on a plea filed by one of the complainants seeking its cancellation.
The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday filed a nearly 3,000-page charge sheet against Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji as part of a continuing money laundering investigation against him and his aides, official sources said.
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Deputy CM said over 345 doctors and nurses from neighbouring districts have been deployed to treat the injured.
BJP strategists are missing something somewhere, and they have not acknowledged it, to be able to repair it in good time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
CM Stalin assured that such a tragedy "should never happen" in the future either.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The case against Balaji and his aides pertains to his tenure as the state transport minister in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government during 2011-15.
If the TVK joins the NDA, there is every likelihood of the AIADMK winning an absolute majority in the 234 seat assembly and wanting to form a stand-alone government. In turn, it could mean that the BJP especially and the TVK equally so, will want to restrict the AIADMK's seat share closer to the cut-off figure, if only to ensure that EPS won't get the absolute majority that he desires (if the NDA won, that is) and will have to settle for a coalition government, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Karur tragedy has exposed the huge gaps in Vijay's understanding of realpolitik, elections and political administration, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is under pressure from his party as his unclear stand on the BJP alliance has brought back fears among party workers that the party may lose its identity, be forced into an unwanted coalition, and be taken over by the BJP later, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered "multiple irregularities" in the operations of TASMAC, the state-run monopoly controlling liquor trade in Tamil Nadu. The agency found evidence of "manipulation" in tender processes and "unaccounted" cash transactions worth Rs 1,000 crore through distillery companies. The ED alleges that these irregularities involved "kickbacks" to secure increased supply orders from TASMAC and systematic inflation of expenses by distillery companies to siphon off unaccounted cash.
Amid a growing chorus in the party for his elevation, Tamil Nadu sports minister and son of Chief Minister M K Stalin, Udhayanidhi, was elevated as the deputy CM on Saturday with additional responsibility, in a cabinet reshuffle that saw the return of V Senthil Balaji to the council of ministers two days after securing bail in a money laundering case.
Arrested Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji has resigned from the council of ministers, Raj Bhavan said on Tuesday.
Udhayanidhi's 'untimely' elevation as deputy CM may be used against the party, for critics to argue that the DMK's 'first family's is not concerned about anything else but their clan's welfare. If packaged and delivered properly, some of the sting may stick at election time, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The bench said the report submitted by the special judge indicates that he has 29 cases with him. In many cases, the trial has begun while in many others the trial is yet to begin.
A 2.49 acre land valued at more than Rs 30 crore belonging to the sister-in-law of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji has been frozen as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation against him, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Thursday.
While the Raj Bhavan had on Thursday night said it placed the unprecedented 'dismissal' order on hold, the DMK regime asserted it would pick an appropriate action plan to counter and fight the move against the minister by Ravi, even though he backtracked from it.
Arrested Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji will undergo an open-heart surgery at a private hospital in Chennai on June 21, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Tuesday, a week after the beleaguered DMK leader was advised a bypass surgery.
'This is the real purpose behind the arrest, and it is not about controlling corruption.' 'It is like taking Amit Shah into custody before the 2024 elections.' 'How will it affect the BJP's election machinery?'
A local court in Chennai on Friday granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) eight days custody of Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, who was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the agency on June 14.
'The BJP knows only one language, intimidation!'
After making landfall near Puducherry on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpour under its influence paralysed the union territory, with the Army stepping in to evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets.
Is Governor Ravi acting without informing/consulting the Centre, or is the BJP leadership unsure of what to do with the DMK in Tamil Nadu? asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The governor of a state has to act on the recommendation of the council of ministers, the Supreme Court said on Friday while dismissing an appeal challenging the decision of the Madras high court refusing to consider a petition against the continuance of V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government despite his arrest.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said constitutional courts cannot allow provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to become instruments in the hands of the Enforcement Directorate to continue incarceration for a long time.
At the end of the day, Stalin expressing solidarity with an arrested colleague is one thing, especially if he too felt that the minister had been wronged, but for him to retain the person in office sets a bad precedent, which would not go unnoticed by voters, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Thursday dismissed minister V Senthil Balaji from the council of ministers days after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a cash-for-jobs scam, a move that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said the government would challenge legally.
'The BJP think they are running an ideology machine in this country, and they have to convert everyone, from people to parties to party leaders.'
Sources said there was no need 'immediately' to look into legal aspects or consider anything else (such as the possibility of political interests over the dismissal and a counter-strategy to frustrate it), as the dismissal was now on hold.
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