MK Stalin appoints son Udhayanidhi as Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister

Tamil Nadu Sport Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday. Besides the existing Sports Ministry, Udhayanidhi has also been allotted the portfolio of Planning and Development.
Earlier, Chief Minister MK Stalin had recommended to the Governor of Tamil Nadu, RN Ravi, to allot the portfolio of Planning and Development to Udhayanidhi, in addition to his existing portfolios, and be designated as Deputy Chief Minister.
In a significant cabinet reshuffle in Tamil Nadu, Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy will take on the role of Minister for Forests, Environment, and Climate Change. Siva V Meyyanathan will be the new Minister for Backward Classes Welfare, while N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj will take over the Human Resources Management and Ex-Servicemen Welfare portfolios. M Mathiventhan will assume responsibility for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare.
RS Rajakannappan has been named Minister for Milk and Dairy Development as well as Khadi & Village Industries, and Thangam Tennarasu is allocated to the portfolios of Environment, the Pollution Control Board, and Climate Change, in addition to his current portfolios of Finance and Archaeology.
Other DMK leaders, including SM Nasar and V Senthilbalaji, who recently walked out of the jail after the Supreme Court granted him bail in a money laundering case, have been recommended to be re-inducted into the council of ministries. Meanwhile, Govi Chezhian, R Rajendran, have also been added to the council of ministers.
However, ministers T Mano Thangaraj, Gingee KS Masthan, K Ramachandran have been dropped from the Milk & Dairy Development, Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare and Tourism portfolios, respectively.
In September 2023, Udhayanidhi sparked a massive row by comparing Sanatana Darma with “dengue” and “malaria”. He also said that Sanatana Dharma should be “eradicated”.
“Few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can’t oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria or corona. We have to eradicate this. That’s how we have to eradicate Sanatana,” Udhayanidhi said while he was addressing a gathering at ‘Sanatana Abolition Conference’.
“Rather than opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated. The name Sanatana is from Sanskrit. It is against social justice and equality,” Udhayanidhi Stalin added.
The 46-year-old actor-turned-politician, who represents Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency, made his entry into politics before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He then took up a state-wide tour to campaign for the DMK as the party’s youth wing chief.
After DMK’s victory in the 2021 Assembly elections, he was entrusted with the youth welfare and sports development portfolio. Since then, there was no looking as his popularity among the party members and public grew unequivocally.