Sheltered by Stalin

THE JUNE 14 ARREST of Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) for his alleged involvement in a cash-for-jobs scam when he was transport minister between 2011 and 2015 in the J Jayalalithaa-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government has laid bare the state’s ongoing failure to confront the scourge of corruption. A classic example of a Dravidian politician who took a mor­ally questionable path to power, quick success, and credibility, Senthil Balaji continues to be shielded by Chief Minister MK Stalin who has decided to retain him as a minister without portfolio, redistributing his portfolios of electricity and excise and liquor to others despite opposition from the governor. “The raid conducted by ED at the Secretariat office of Hon’ble Minister Senthil Balaji is a direct assault on the federal prin­ciple. The backdoor tactics of BJP against its political opponents will not yield the desired results. BJP will learn it the hard way soon. The silence of people who are watching BJP’s cheap acts of vindictive politics should not be underestimated. It is nothing but the calm before the storm of 2024 that will sweep BJP away,” Stalin wrote in a Twitter post. Stalin may be using the case to add fuel to the Centre-vs-state fire that is raging in the run-up to the General Election next year, but whether the ED investigation is fuelled by politics rather than a sense of duty is a moot point. The question to ask is: Why is Stalin defending the indefensible? Balaji, who is alleged to have taken bribes in exchange for jobs in the transport department, was issued a summons by ED in 2019, which also filed four cases against him following a complaint by job aspirants. Two years later, he told the Madras High Court that he had reached a “settlement” with 13 of the job aspirants, in what has been interpreted as an admission of guilt. The court dismissed all proceedings against Balaji in 2022. However, the Supreme Court set aside this order on May 16, 2023, directing ED to complete its probe within two months.

“Senthil Balaji is a fraud and a scamster who was removed as minister and relieved of his organisational posts in 2015 by Amma when she realised what he had been up to. When FIRs were filed against him, Stalin issued statements demanding ac­tion, but now, he is the one protecting Senthil. It is clear why—it is not Senthil’s political clout that Stalin is afraid of, it’s what he knows about the corruption that is rampant in the DMK gov­ernment. If ED questions him, a lot of people will be exposed,” said D Jayakumar, AIADMK leader, and former minister, talking to Open. “It is disgraceful for a chief minister to harbour a crimi­nal who cheated out-of-work youngsters,” Jayakumar added. AIADMK, demanding the dismissal of Balaji from the council of ministers, is now facing the wrath of the MK Stalin government which has reportedly directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to file charges in pending cases against former AIADMK ministers MR Vijayabaskar, P Thangamani, SP Velumani, and others. “When the police came for Amma, she went with grace, after completing her puja. And how does this man face the consequences of his actions? He cries and beats his chest as they drag him away,” Jayakumar said. Upon his arrest at 2AM from his residence in Chennai, Balaji was hospitalised with complaints of chest pain. After his wife filed a habeas corpus peti­tion alleging illegal arrest, a Madras High Court order allowed him to be shifted to a private hospital for bypass surgery, but ED challenged the decision in the Supreme Court. On June 21, the apex court refused to stay the high court order. Balaji un­derwent cardiac surgery at Chennai’s Cauvery Hospital on the same day. The hospital said in a statement that Balaji underwent beating heart coro­nary artery bypass surgery, with four bypass grafts placed and coronary revascularisation established.

Amidst Stalin’s unwavering defence of Balaji, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders continue to throng the hospital. “What is the need to investigate such a person by confining him like a ter­rorist? When the ED officials came, he gave full cooperation and said he was ready to give whatever explanation sought by them. Despite this, he was confined for 18 hours, not allowed to meet anyone,” Stalin said in his defence. ED, however, cited his non-cooperation and his refusal to sign the arrest memo as reasons for approaching the court. He was subsequently remanded to 14 days’ custody.

Balaji has always had a penchant for drama and grand gestures. Born Senthil Kumar, a Goundar from Karur in western Tamil Nadu, the 47-year-old politician is known for his organisational ability and grassroots connect, as well as for his pathological sycophancy. When Jayalalithaa went to prison after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case, he tonsured his head at the Tirupati temple, carried a fire pot and a kavadi, performed angapradakshanam and conducted a number of conspicuous pujas that made headlines. He was even rumoured to be next in line after O Paneerselvam, who was installed as chief minister by Jayalalithaa. However, once he had fallen from grace in Amma’s eyes, he failed to land a ministry in her cabinet despite winning from Aravak­kurichi in 2016. Upon her death later that year, Balaji joined the faction that followed TTV Dhinakaran and wore a green headlight shaped like AIADMK’s two-leaves symbol while campaigning for him in the RK Nagar bypoll in 2017. A few months later, he switched sides once again, joining DMK to help shore up the party’s presence in the Kongu belt. It was a homecoming, he would argue. He had, after all, started his political career with Vaiko’s Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) in 1995, and shortly thereaf­ter, joined DMK to became an elected ward councillor in 1996.

Whichever party Senthil Balaji was in, he quickly rose within the ranks and was seen as having the leader’s ear, and as someone who was trusted. “He is a good worker, someone who effectively delivers results,” his friend and colleague Thanga Tamilselvan told Open. “Dhinakaran won RK Nagar because of him alone. He has since contributed in a major way to DMK’s position in the Coimbatore region. We have swept local body polls and have a good foothold in the region now,” he added. By all fly-on-the-wall accounts, Balaji is someone who makes sure to stay in the management’s good books. He created an uproar in the Assembly by accusing AIADMK MLAs of subservient behaviour—as though we can unsee the number of photo­graphs that exist of him falling at the feet of Jayalalithaa. Stalin, for one, continues to be in his thrall, and it could be the begin­ning of DMK’s descent into organisational sclerosis. “Senthil Balaji alone is enough to bring down the DMK government,” Dhinakaran said in a recent interview.

AIADMKDMKMK StalinpoliticsTamil NaduV Senthil Balaji