P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan.
Credit: DH file photo
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday said he shifted minister P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan from the high-profile Finance portfolio to the Information Technology department in May last year to bring in “reforms” in the latter.
Rajan, a top banker before he became an MLA in 2016, was credited with bringing in several reforms in the Finance department but was shifted to IT within weeks after a purported audio tape of him went viral on social media.
Speaking in public about PTR’s portfolio change, which raised many eyebrows in political circles during the May 11 reshuffle, Stalin said Rajan was a third-generation politician from an aristocratic family based out of Madurai and lauded him for dedicating himself to the service of the people like his father, P T R Palanivel Rajan, and grandfather, P T Rajan.
“P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan brought in several reforms during his tenure as Finance Minister in the first two years of our government. I transferred him to Information Technology because this department was also in need of several reforms much like Finance,” Stalin said, delivering his inaugural address at the Umagine 2024 here.
“Under his leadership, the IT sector will contribute more to the state’s economy and provide more jobs for the youngsters,” Stalin added. The Chief Minister’s remarks are significant as PTR was perceived to be sidelined in the government and in the party since April 2023 when the audio tape surfaced on social media.
Stalin’s praise for Rajan also comes a month after he was named to the DMK’s manifesto committee for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and his mother was appointed as the first woman chairman of the trustees of the famous Sri Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai.
These developments, according to sources, show that Rajan, who was popular on national television for his no-holds barred attacks on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is gaining back the confidence of the DMK leadership.
“The party wants to use his experience and his expertise in several fields. Finding a place in the manifesto committee was the first indication that he is slowly getting back to form,” a DMK leader told DH.
In the audio clips, the person, claimed to be Thiaga Rajan, is heard talking about the DMK, Sports Minister Udhayanidhi, and Stalin’s son-in-law Sabareesan, and how they are controlling the party-led government.
At Friday’s event, Stalin recalled that his late father and former chief minister M Karunanidhi was the first to come up with an exclusive policy for IT in the late 1990s, laying the foundation stone for the sector’s growth in the state.
“Our aim is not just to make Tamil Nadu a USD 1 trillion economy but also to make the state the human resources capital of the world. We don’t show growth only in numbers; we show growth by bringing a difference in people’s living standards,” Stalin added.