Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, was appointed as the state’s deputy chief minister on Sunday.
The elevation of Udhayanidhi Stalin, the state minister for sports and youth welfare, comes as part of a Cabinet reshuffle and expansion.
He will be allotted the planning and development portfolio in addition to his existing ministries, The Hindu reported citing a press release from the governor’s office.
As part of the reshuffle, former minister V Senthil Balaji was reinstated as minister and sworn in. Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in June 2023 in connection with a money-laundering case, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Apart from him, R Rajendran and SM Nasar, MLAs of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, were also included in the Council of Ministers.
Govi Chezhiaan took charge of the higher education ministry. K Ponmudy, who held the higher education portfolio, will take over as the minister for forests.
T Mano Thangaraj, Gingee KS Masthan and K Ramachandran have been dropped from the Council of Ministers.
Udhayanidhi Stalin had triggered a nationwide controversy in September 2023 by saying that Sanatana Dharma was akin to dengue and malaria. He added that it should hence be annihilated.
Sanatana Dharma is a term some people use as a synonym for Hinduism.
First information reports were filed against him in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for the comment.
In April, the Supreme Court criticised Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remark, saying that he had abused his right to freedom of speech and expression.
He was granted him bail by a Bengaluru court in June.
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