Eight months after arrest, Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji resigns

Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji tendered his resignation on Monday. (File photo)

Nearly eight months after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam, Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji tendered his resignation on Monday ahead of his bail hearing in the Madras High Court.

The move gains significance as Balaji’s prolonged legal battle and multiple bail pleas have largely remained futile, raising questions over why he is still being retained as a minister in the M K Stalin-led Cabinet without any portfolio.

The office of Chief Minister Stalin confirmed the submission of Balaji’s resignation and that it was sent to the Governor for approval, Indian Express reported.

Balaji’s arrest on June 14 last year was linked to a purported cash-for-jobs scam that occurred during his tenure as the transport minister, from 2011 to 2015, in the Cabinet led by the late Jayalalithaa, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Before his arrest, the DMK leader held significant positions, managing electricity, excise and prohibition portfolios. The case against Balaji involves allegations of corruption and illegal money transactions in the recruitment process within the Metropolitan Transport Corporation.

Recently, Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madras HC, while addressing Balaji’s prolonged detention and his status in the Cabinet, expressed concerns over the message this situation conveyed about the state’s governance and legal standards. The judge highlighted the anomaly of a minister retaining his Cabinet position despite being jailed for over 230 days on serious charges, pointing out that even lower-grade employees of the state would have been suspended under similar circumstances, Indian Express reported.