DMK demands TN minister's dismissal

Opposition DMK Monday demanded dismissal of Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Minister Balakrishna Reddy from the state cabinet, following his conviction by a special court in a two-decade old riots case.

Reddy was on Monday sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment by a special court here in the case related to a protest against illicit liquor in Hosur in 1998.

DMK President and Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly, MK Stalin, described the court verdict against Reddy as a "shame" for the ruling AIADMK led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

He wondered why the chief minister has not yet dismissed Reddy from the cabinet and questioned Governor Banwarilal Purohit's 'silence' on the matter.

"Balakrishna Reddy must be dismissed without any delay... his continuing in the post is not only an insult to the cabinet but will also bring disrepute to Tamil Nadu," Stalin said in a statement.

If the Chief minister failed to sack his colleague, then the Governor should step in and take action against not only Reddy but also Health Minister C Vijayabaskar and state police chief TK Rajendran, whose presmises the CBI had earlier searched in connection with its probe into the Gutka scam, he said.

Reddy, then a BJP member, was convicted by special judgefor cases involving MPS and MLAs JShanthi in the 1998 case.

The Judge, however, accepted a plea of the minister's counsel and stayed the sentence enabling him to file an appeal in the Madras High Court.

Besides Reddy, who represents Hosur constituency in the assembly, the court sentenced 15 other accused in the case to three years rigorous imprisonment.