Tamil Nadu Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) was divested of the Finance and Human Resources Management portfolio following a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, May 11. The move to remove PTR as the Finance Minister comes in the wake of the controversial leaked audio tapes purportedly of the DMK leader. He, however, continues in the cabinet, and has been made the Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services. Minister Thangam Thennarasu, who was the Minister for Industries, has been made the Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management. The Industries portfolio has been allocated to the newly inducted Minister TRB Raaja.
The other big changes in the Tamil Nadu cabinet are Mano Thangaraj, who served as the Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, will now be the Minister for Milk and Dairy Development and Minister SM Nasar, who handled the Dairy Development portfolio, has been dropped from the cabinet. According to sources, Nasar has been dropped from the cabinet due to lack of performance and alleged mismanagement of supply of Aavin milk in Tamil Nadu. Nasar was also caught in a controversy in January this year, when the Minister hurled stones at party workers over delay in bringing chairs for him in Tiruvallur district. MP Saminathan, the Minister of Information and Publicity, has been additionally allotted the Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, Archaeology.
Speculation over the cabinet reshuffle had many in the party and others coming out in support of PTR. Many took to social media, using the hashtag ‘#StandwithPTR’. Several party insiders had also told TNM that many leaders within the DMK were not in full agreement with the nature and timing of the decision to remove PTR as minister. Several senior leaders of the party had also conveyed this to Chief Minister MK Stalin, in private conversations, that moving PTR out of the Finance Ministry would be seen as an ‘admission of guilt’ in the wake of the controversial audio tapes.
In the controversial audio clips, the voice - purportedly of PTR - can be heard talking about Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son and Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhaynidhi Stalin and son-in-law Sabreesan having allegedly amassed Rs 30000 crore in a year. The first audio clip was released by YouTuber Savukku Shankar and the second one by Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President K Annamalai. However, PTR said that both the clips were fabricated and malicious. The minister claimed that the clip was an attempt to portray him as a whistleblower against his own party. CM Stalin, during an episode of ‘Ungalil Oruvan Padhilgal’ (One among you answers), a question-and-answer show, said that PTR himself gave two detailed explanations and that he doesn’t want to indulge in talking about the matter and “give publicity to those indulging in cheap politics.”
On May 1, Finance Minister PTR met Chief Minister MK Stalin at his residence amid speculation that he may be dropped from the cabinet. According to DMK sources, the past week has witnessed hectic parleys within the senior leadership of the DMK over the proposed cabinet reshuffle.