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Chennai, May 22 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is likely to effect a minor reshuffle in his cabinet with Textile Minister R. Gandhi, and Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran set to be replaced, as per party sources.
Highly placed sources in the DMK told IANS that Gandhi would be shown the door due to his poor performance in the past three years and Ramachandran would be replaced due to his poor health.
The DMK has not announced any replacements for these two leaders but the lone party legislator from Salem district, ‘Panamarathupatty’ Rajendran, according to party sources, will be given a cabinet berth.
Salem is the home district of AIADMK General Secretary and former Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), and in the 2021 Assembly elections, the party and its ally PMK won all but one of the eleven seats in the district.
The lone seat that it lost - Salem North - was won by Rajendran. This is considered the reason for Stalin pushing his name for a minister in the likely cabinet rejig after June 4.
DMK General Secretary and party veteran, S. Duraimurugan who holds the portfolios of Water Resources and Mines and Minerals, and it is expected that he will have to divest one of his portfolios.
River sand quarrying has become a major issue in Tamil Nadu with even the Enforcement Directorate filing cases against river sand contractors. As river sand quarrying comes under the Mines and Minerals department, there is pressure in the DMK for Duraimurugan to be divested of his Mines and Minerals portfolio but party sources told IANS that the minister is keen to retain it and and instead was not averse to giving away the Water Resources portfolio.
However, the DMK leadership does not want Duraimurugan to give up the Water Resources portfolio as he is an expert in the subject and has been part of the deliberations on inter-state water disputes including the Cauvery issue with Karnataka and the Mullaperiyar issue with Kerala.
--IANS
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