Tamil Nadu Governor Rejects Chief Minister’s Recommendation to Appoint K Ponmudy as Minister

GG News Bureau
Chennai, 18th March. Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has declined the recommendation of Chief Minister MK Stalin to appoint K Ponmudy as a minister following his reinstatement as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).

K Ponmudy, a disqualified minister and senior leader of the DMK, was reinstated after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction and three-year jail sentence in a disproportionate asset case on March 13, 2024.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption had registered a case against Ponmudy and his wife, Visalakshi, in 2011. Previously, Ponmudy served as the minister for higher education and mines during the DMK regime from 2006 to 2011.

The state legislative assembly speaker, M Appavu, reinstated Ponmudy as a member of the Legislative Assembly, allowing him to resume his duties as an MLA.

However, Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote a letter to Governor RN Ravi requesting Ponmudy’s appointment as a minister.

In response, Governor RN Ravi conveyed his decision to the state government, stating his inability to administer the oath of office to Ponmudy due to the pending case and the absence of a Supreme Court ruling overturning his conviction.

Earlier, on March 1, Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu, Edappadi Palaniswami, had written to Speaker Appavu regarding Ponmudi’s disqualification as an MLA. Palaniswami highlighted Ponmudi’s conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Madras High Court, emphasizing that the Supreme Court had not stayed the conviction order.