Chennai, Jun 29 (IANS): In an unprecedented action, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi on Thursday dismissed jailed Minister Senthil Balaji from the state council of ministers.
“Minister V. Senthil Balaji is facing serious criminal proceedings in a number of cases of corruption including taking cash for jobs and money laundering. Under these circumstances, the Governor has dismissed him from council of ministers with immediate effect,” a Raj Bhavan statement said.
Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate earlier this month and sent to judicial custody in a job for cash scam. He had later undergone a bypass coronary surgery from a private hospital in Chennai.
Holding charge of the Electricity, and Prohibition and Excise Departments, Balaji was divested of his portfolios soon after his arrest and retained as Minister without Portfolio in the M.K. Stalin government.