DMK leader V Senthil Balaji resigned as Tamil Nadu minister, SC told
New Delhi(PTI): The Supreme Court was on Monday informed that DMK leader V Senthil Balaji stepped down as a Tamil Nadu minister and his resignation was accepted by Governor.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih perused a press release of the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan which the state government submitted in court.
The top court, in the meantime, refused to accept the Enforcement Directorate's plea to bar Balaji from holding the post till trial in the case was over.
"A press release is handed over to us which records that he has tendered his resignation which has been accepted by the honourable Governor. Therefore, now there is no occasion to entertain this application," the bench said.
The apex court on April 23 asked Balaji to make a choice "between post and freedom" as it warned him of cancelling bail if he did not step down as minister in Tamil Nadu.
It took exception to the fact that Balaji was reinstated as a Tamil Nadu cabinet minister days after getting bail in a money laundering case related to the "cash-for-job" scam.
On September 26, 2024, the top court granted bail to Balaji, who had spent over 15 months in jail and observed there was no possibility of the completion of trial in the near future.
Balaji, 48, was sworn in as a minister by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on September 29, last year and was assigned the same key portfolios -- electricity, non-conventional energy development, prohibition and excise -- he held previously in the Stalin cabinet.
Balaji, representing Karur assembly constituency, was arrested on June 14, 2023 in the case when he was the transport minister during the previous AIADMK regime between 2011 and 2015.
On February 13, last year, the TN Governor accepted Balaji's resignation from the council of ministers. The top court's reprieve on September 26, 2024 ended Balaji's 471-day incarceration.
The ED had filed a case of money laundering in July 2021 to probe the allegations after three FIRs were registered by the Tamil Nadu police in 2018 and on the basis of complaints by those aggrieved in the alleged scam.
Its chargesheet claimed the entire recruitment process in the state transport department during his tenure as a minister was turned into a "corrupt chiefdom".
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
