Tamil Nadu minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan was on Thursday shifted out of the Finance and Human Resources Management portfolios and given charge of Information Technology ministry after a Cabinet reshuffle.
Rajan, a key minister in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Cabinet, was embroiled in a controversy last month after two audio clips had surfaced on social media in which he was purportedly heard criticising the MK Stalin-led government and praising the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, Rajan had said that audio clips were fake.
Thangam Thenarasu, who was earlier the minister for industries in the state government, will now take over the finance ministry.
Rajan said on Twitter that the past two years, during which he held the finance portfolio, were the most fulfilling ones of his life. “Despite inheriting record deficits and debt ratios, we have invested in a record number of social welfare schemes as well as record capital spending, all while delivering record-setting fiscal improvements,” the former international investment banker wrote.
On Sunday, speculations arose about changes to Rajan’s role in the ministry after his name went missing from a list of DMK speakers for events scheduled to be held in district headquarters and major towns, The Indian Express reported.
Unidentified sources from the party told the newspaper that Rajan himself sought that his name be dropped on account of the recent controversies, and that the party accepted his request.
In the first audio clip attributed to Rajan, he was purportedly heard speaking about Stalin’s son – state minister Udhayanidhi Stalin – and his son-in-law V Sabareesan, The Print reported. “Both Udhay [Udhayanidhi Stalin] and Sabre [V Sabareesan] have realised, they have made more money in one year...now it is getting into a problem. How to handle it,” he allegedly said.
On April 22, while denying the authenticity of the audio clips, Rajan had said: “Whatever I am, and whatever I have done in public life is because of my leader, DMK president and Honourable Chief Minister MK Stalin.”
Days after the release of the audio clip, the Income Tax Departmant had carried out searches on the premises of real estate company G Square Realtors. Some reports claimed that the company had links with Stalin.
On May 4, the company said that the searches were routine in nature and that several other real estate firms also underwent similar inspections, according to the Deccan Chronicle.
“The comprehensive investigations had confirmed that the company had no association with any political party, family members of any such party as was evident from their records submitted before the authorities,” a press release by Bala alias Ramajeyam, the managing director of G Square, had said.
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