MK Stalin announces cabinet reshuffle; son Udhayanidhi promoted to deputy CM post, Senthil Balaji gets re-entry
Chennai/IBNS: Proving two speculations true, the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has promoted Sports Minister and Chief Minister MK Stalin's son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, to the post of deputy chief minister and re-inducted former transport minister Senthil Balaji, two days after he got bail in a money laundering case.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, whose elevation has been doing rounds for weeks, has been given charge of the Planning and Development ministry besides his existing Youth Welfare and Sports Development portfolio.
He has been designated the deputy chief minister of the state.
It is not yet clear what Balaji's portfolio will be, who had been in jail for 15 months after being accused of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate for his involvement in the alleged cash-for-jobs scam that occurred during the AIADMK regime under the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.
The Supreme Court granted him bail on Thursday, which said "stringent and higher threshold of bail and delay in prosecution cannot go together".
As part of the cabinet reshuffle announced on Saturday, T Mano Thangaraj, Minister for Milk and Dairy Development, Gingee Masthan, Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare and K Ramachandran, Minister for Tourism, have been dropped and three new faces, Govi Chezhiaan, R Rajendran and SM Nasar, will be inducted.
A Raj Bhavan release said Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has approved the chief minister's recommendations and the swearing-in ceremony will take place at 3.30 pm on Sunday.
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