TN minister Senthil Balaji, arrested on money laundering charge, undergoes cardiac surgery

Balaji was arrested by ED earlier this month on money laundering charges, sparking a furious political row between Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK and its rivals.

Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji has undergone a coronary artery bypass at Chennai's Kauvery Hospital. In a brief statement the hospital said Balaji 'underwent beating heart coronary artery bypass surgery... four bypass grafts were placed and coronary revascularisation was established'. The minister is 'currently hemodynamically stable and (is) being monitored in the post-operative cardiothoracic intensive care unit', the hospital said.

Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate earlier this month on money laundering charges. (ANI)

"Senthil Balaji has undergone bypass surgery. He is currently in the post-operation ward. I have been in contact with the doctors in the hospital," the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader's ministerial colleague, Ma. Subramanian, told news agency ANI.

Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate earlier this month on money laundering charges, sparking a furious political row between Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK and its rivals - the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party.

What happened during his arrest by ED?

Tamil Nadu's state electricity and excise minister V Senthil Balaji, 47, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the early hours of Wednesday following an 18-hour interrogation regarding a money laundering case. The minister's premises were raided by the central agency on Tuesday, leading to his subsequent arrest after which Balaji broke down.

Due to his lack of cooperation, refusal to sign the arrest memo, and his verbal outbursts directed at the agency officers, the ED informed the court of his noncompliance. As a result, he has been remanded to judicial custody for a period of 14 days.

Following his arrest, Balaji complained of chest pain and he was taken to a government hospital in Chennai, where he received a diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Subsequently, on the orders of the Madras High Court, he was transferred to the privately-run Kauvery Hospital. Medical experts at the hospital have recommended that Balaji undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Why was he arrested?

Balaji's arrest stems from allegations of involvement in a cash-for-jobs scam that occurred during his tenure as the transport minister, when he was affiliated with the AIADMK party and served under the former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

The ED's action comes two weeks after Income Tax officials conducted an extensive eight-day raid on various locations connected to the minister and his supporters. This raid was prompted by the Supreme Court overturning a 2022 order by the Madras High Court that dismissed the proceedings against Senthil Balaji.

Row over Senthil Balaji's arrest

The arrest of Balaji has ignited a significant political controversy in Tamil Nadu, particularly in light of the upcoming general election scheduled for next year. The opposition AIADMK and its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are seizing the opportunity to leverage the situation following their substantial defeat in the 2021 Assembly election.

In response to Balaji's arrest and his claims of mental and physical torture by the ED officials, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin launched a scathing attack on AIADMK and BJP. The chief minister's criticism aligns with the opposition's persistent allegations that the BJP utilises central investigative agencies such as the ED to target their political rivals.

"We are also capable of all sorts of politics. This is not a threat. It's a warning... do not rub a DMK man the wrong way. If we retaliate you will not be able to tolerate it," Stalin said.

"For ten years before the BJP came to power, the ED conducted only 112 raids. After BJP came... ED has conducted 3,000 raids against those who opposed them," he further claimed.

Stalin, the Congress (allies of the DMK), Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress have all slammed the ED's action as 'political vendetta'.