Marking a first, a Minister belonging to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu was sentenced by the Madras High Court on December 21. For the first time since the DMK came to power in 1967, a sitting Minister from the party has been convicted and sentenced in a disproportionate assets case.
Justice G. Jayachandran sentenced Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs.50 lakh on him for a prevention of corruption offence. Ponmudi faced immediate disqualification upon his conviction as it was under Section 8(1) of the People’s Representation Act, 1951—not under Section 8(3), as in the case of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Ponmudi’s wife, P. Visalakshi, the second accused in the case, also received a similar sentence. The judge suspended the sentence for 30 days to enable them to prefer an appeal in the Supreme Court. Both Ponmudi, 72, and his wife submitted their medical records and appealed for a lower quantum of punishment.
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Ponmudi, a firebrand who held his ground even as his area was overrun by the caste politics of Pattali Makkal Katchi’s S. Ramadoss, fell afoul of the law due to a case filed during his party’s absence from power by the AIADMK government led by J. Jayalalithaa.
The Department of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption had registered a case against Ponmudi and his wife on September 26, 2011, alleging that the Minister and his wife had amassed assets more than 65.99 per cent during the check period—from April 13, 2006, to May 13, 2010. A Special Court for Prevention of Corruption cases in Villupuram, the Minister’s hometown, had previously exonerated him and his wife of any wrongdoing. The total amount involved in this case is Rs.1.36 crore.
Backward Classes Welfare Minister R.S. Rajakannappan will hold the Higher Education portfolio now. Handlooms Minister R. Gandhi has been assigned part of Mr. Rajakannappan’s responsibilities—that of leading the Khadi and Village Industries Board.
For obvious reasons, the conviction brought cheers to the BJP. The party’s State president K. Annamalai posted on X: “...With the going rate & innumerable cases of corruption pending verdict against DMK Ministers, Thiru M.K.Stalin may as well build a separate block in Central prison dedicated to his Ministers.”
As Annamalai noted, there are cases against several DMK Ministers. Ponmudi himself has multiple cases filed against him, including one more disproportionate assets case from the 1996-2001 period and another case relating to Mines and Minerals. Ministers Durai Murugan, K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, Anitha Radhakrishnan, P. Geetha Jeevan, E.V. Velu are among those facing legal issues.
DMK leader Ponmudi with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at an event in Chennai on July 2023 | Photo Credit: M Muthuganesapandy
The AIADMK is also in a difficult situation, with cases against many Ministers in the 2016-2021 Cabinet being pursued after the DMK came to power. Politically, the corruption-related issues in both the DMK and the AIADMK give the BJP’s campaign—that there was only corruption growing in Tamil Nadu as part of the Dravidian model of development—a significant boost.
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Asked about this, the anti-corruption crusader in the DMK who was sidelined, P.V. Kalyanasundaram, said that a verdict like this demoralises cadre and makes Ministers under watch and MLAs tense. “They might think: who is next? They will not be able to function properly with involvement in party or government,” he added.
While asserting that it was normal for AIADMK governments to file corruption cases against the DMK and vice versa, he said the difference earlier was that “there was the feeling that legal battles can be fought. That perception is now changing. AIADMK also has the same problem now.”
Asked how the DMK would look to overcome this setback, he said that everything was in the hands of the Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin. “He has to revamp the party. He has to identify who is problematic; he has to make decisions. Cadre should not lose morale. He should not be evasive... Drastic changes are needed. DMK’s advantage is that in Tamil Nadu, among all the political parties, this party is the one that has done the most for the improvement of the people. I am sure that the people will not let down the DMK, but the party leadership should act decisively to convey the message that it would rise to this new challenge, as it has always done to any challenge,” he added.
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