With the Supreme Court granting bail to former DMK minister V Senthil Balaji, he is likely to be inducted into the Tamil Nadu Cabinet again in a ministerial reshuffle along with the elevation of Udhayanidhi Stalin as the Deputy Chief Minister.
There is a huge expectation in the party that Balaji will regain his berth in the Stalin ministry and party legal eagles as well as senior leaders made it clear that there is no bar on his becoming a minister now.
According to party sources, the coronation of Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of the Chief Minister, as the number two in the government could happen anytime now, most probably after Stalin’s visit to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister.
As soon as the court pronounced its verdict, Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin extended a warm welcome saying, “Your sacrifice is great and your determination even greater. Getting released from prison undaunted and resolute, I welcome my brother Senthil Balaji.”
Effusive in his praise of the former minister who is a strong man in western Tamil Nadu, known as the Kongu belt, the Chief Minister in his ‘X’ post said, “After 471 days of incarceration, my dear brother Senthil Balaji has been granted bail by the Supreme Court. With the Enforcement Directorate having been turned to crush political opponents, the apex court alone remains the only avenue of dawn. Even during the Emergency such a long incarceration was not there. Political conspiracy continued for 15 months.”
Further, he added “they believed to crush his determination by keeping him for long behind the bars. But, he is coming out more determined and resolute.” The ruling DMK is jubilant and the supporters of Balaji in his home town of Karur burst crackers to celebrate his eventual release, expected Thursday evening or Friday morning.
On his return to the cabinet, DMK Legal Wing secretary NR Elango, MP, who was among the battery of lawyers who appeared for him, speaking to the media, said “There is no bar on his being inducted into the cabinet. He will step out of the prison today (Thursday) evening or Friday morning.” It was echoed by Law Minister and party senior, S Regupathy and others.
In support of Balaji’s re-entry into the ministry, DMK leaders cite the case of Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy, who had resigned upon his conviction in a disproportionate assets case. He was re-inducted on the Supreme Court staying the sentence and conviction. Balaji, who continued as a Minister without a portfolio on his arrest by the ED, later resigned in February this year.
Balaji was arrested on June 14 last by the ED in a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-job scam when he was the Transport Minister in the then Jayalalithaa government. Shortly after his arrest he reported chest pain and was admitted to the Government Omandurar Super-Speciality Hospital and then shifted to a private hospital where he underwent an open heart surgery. His bail plea was rejected 6 times and his custody was extended 58 times by the Principal Sessions Court.