Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday effected a reshuffle in the Council of Ministers by inducting three-time MLA T R B Rajaa after dropping Dairy Development Minister S M Naser.
Rajaa, son of DMK veteran T R Baalu and chief of the party’s IT wing, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor R N Ravi at Raj Bhavan here.
The inclusion of Raaja, MLA from Mannargudi, was in the pipeline for some time as people in the Cauvery Delta region was demanding a minister from their area. However, Stalin was trying to placate them saying he too was from the region.
Raaja had been expecting a Cabinet berth citing his seniority since the government came to power, but he was overlooked in 2021 and was appointed as a member of the State Planning Commission. Months later, he was named as the head of DMK’s IT wing, after P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan quit citing his preoccupation as Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu.
The minister is yet to be allotted a subject as speculation mounts over a possible rejig of the portfolios. The speculation gained credence after purported audio clips of Thiaga Rajan allegedly criticizing the DMK’s functioning went viral on social media.
Thiaga Rajan called the audio clips “fabricated”, while Stalin himself suggested he has accepted his Cabinet colleague’s explanation. However, it remains to be seen whether there is a reshuffle of portfolios among ministers.
This is the first time that Stalin has dropped a minister from his Cabinet after he assumed office in May 2021. Naser, the legislator from Avadi constituency on the outskirts of Chennai, was one of the two Muslim faces of the Stalin Cabinet after K S Masthan, who holds the Minorities Welfare portfolio.
Naser’s exit was expected for some time as the Chief Minister had been unhappy with his performance in the Dairy Development department. Sources also said there were a lot of complaints against Naser and his son from partymen as well, leading to his ouster.