High drama unfolded when V. Senthilbalaji, the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case, in the wee hours on June 14, 2023.
With the go-ahead of the Supreme Court, the ED tightened its noose in the case pertaining to the cash-for-jobs scam that took place when Mr. Senthilbalaji was the Minister for Transport between 2011 and 2015, during the AIADMK regime.
Mr. Senthilbalaji, a well-known party-hopper in his political career spanning 27 years, continues in Tamil Nadu Cabinet as a Minister without a portfolio, ably backed by DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin who vehemently campaigned against Mr. Senthilbalaji’s acts of corruption only a few years ago.
The Minister’s arrest marked the opening of a can of worms in the political landscape in Tamil Nadu.
