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Tamil Nadu guv refuses to swear in Ponmudi as minister
On March 13, Tamil Nadu reinstated Ponmudi as an MLA, following the Supreme Court’s order on March 11, suspending his conviction and four-year jail sentence in a disproportionate assets (DA) case
Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi on Sunday refused to swear in K Ponmudi as minister in MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) cabinet, officials aware of the matter said on Sunday.
However, the Raj Bhavan has not released an official statement on the matter.
“The governor has sent a letter that he cannot administer the oath of office to him (Ponmudi) to be minister since his conviction has only been stayed,” a senior government officer aware of the matter said. The official said that further action would be decided.
On March 13, Tamil Nadu reinstated Ponmudi as an MLA, following the Supreme Court’s order on March 11, suspending his conviction and four-year jail sentence in a disproportionate assets (DA) case. The Madras high court had found him guilty in December last year which had led to his immediate disqualification as a legislator and a minister.
Ponmudi was elected from the Tirukkoyilur assembly constituency and served as the higher education minister before conviction.
Last week, the assembly secretariat had notified Tirukkoyilur constituency as vacant and forwarded it to the Election Commission. But Ponmudi received relief from the top court and the order copy was released last Wednesday.
Speaker M Appavu last Wednesday declared that a notification issued on March 5 notifying Thirukkoyilur constituency as vacant “shall cease to operate”, which implies that Ponmudy will continue as an MLA.
Shortly after, the CM wrote to the governor recommending the inclusion of Ponmudi into his cabinet and asking for the swearing-in ceremony to be held immediately and he would be allotted the same portfolio he held earlier.
The case pertains to an order by justice G Jayachandran last December 21 after he allowed the appeal filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC) against a trial court’s order acquitting the Ponmudy and his wife in the case filed against them for amassing assets disproportionate to the known sources of income during Ponmudy’s tenure as Higher Education and Mines Minister between 2006 and 2011.
This SC verdict comes as a major relief for the DMK ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Another DMK minister V Senthil Balaji remains in jail in a money laundering case, since June last year, after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Last June, the governor backtracked after dismissing Balaji on his own and later kept the order in abeyance.
The high court has also set aside the acquittal of rural development minister I Periyasamy in another corruption case and ordered for a fresh trial that will begin soon.
