This afternoon, three Tamil Nadu MLAs took the oath of office as ministers in the DMK administration as part of Chief Minister MK Stalin’s cabinet reshuffle. Senthil Balaji, the DMK leader who spent 15 months in jail for money laundering before being granted bail by the Supreme Court, was reinstalled as minister and took the oath today.
Three MLAs Take Oath as Ministers, Image Source: NEWS18
Govi Chezhian, SM Nasar, and R Rajendran are the three other MLAs who took their oaths as ministers today. Mr Balaji has returned as Minister of Electricity, Excise, and Prohibition. Mr Chezhian will take over the higher education portfolio, Mr Nassar will become the new minister for minorities, and Mr Rajendran will be in charge of tourism.
This cabinet rejig is also significant because it marks the elevation of MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy Chief Minister. He is the third generation leader in his family to get a key role in the Tamil Nadu government after his grandfather and DMK veteran late M Karunanidhi and his father MK Stalin. The 46-year-old leader did not take oath at today’s event because he was a minister before his elevation to the Number 2 post in the state government. He was seen congratulating the four ministers after the oath ceremony at Raj Bhavan.
Udhayanidhi Stalin stated in a social media post earlier today that ‘Deputy Chief Minister’ is a responsibility for him rather than a position. He also went to the memorials of his grandfather, M Karunanidhi, and social campaigner Periyar.
Udhayanidhi Stalin’s elevation to the top post has drawn sharp criticism from AIADMK and the BJP.
AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan referred to junior Stalin as “prince” and said his elevation marks the end of DMK before the 2026 state polls. “This exposes what a big liar Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is. Before the 2021 election, he said his son, son-in-law, or anyone from his family won’t venture into politics. This signals what we have been saying. This is dynast rule in the name of democracy. DMK means only one family. This is a black day in Tamil Nadu.”
The BJP, too, has targeted the DMK and said the party’s history has been marked with “years of betrayal of the people and prioritising family interests over public welfare”. “Despite being part of the alliance, DMK has denied its partners a share in power and instead appointed Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy Chief Minister,” BJP spokesperson ANS Prasad said.
The reinstatement of Senthil Balaji is a message from the DMK to the BJP-ruled Centre. Mr Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a corruption case in June last year and got relief from the Supreme Court only on Thursday. Both the DMK leader and the party have stressed that he was framed out of political vendetta. His reinstatement as minister days after he was granted bail is the DMK doubling down.
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Source: NDTV
