Hours after Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister P Balakrishna Reddy was convicted and sentenced by a special court to three years' imprisonment in a case of rioting in 1998 in Krishnagiri district, he resigned his post. His portfolios, based on recommendation from Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, was handed over to School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan by Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
According to a statement from the Raj Bhavan, Governor of Tamil Nadu has accepted the resignation of P Balakrishna Reddy, from the Council of Ministers." "Based on the recommendation of the Chief Minister, the Portfolio of Youth Welfare and Sports Development has been allocated to KA Sengottaiyan, Minister for School Education who shall be re-designated as Minister for School Education, Youth Welfare and Sports Development," it added.
Earlier on Monday, Special Court Judge J Shanthi, who passed the order, immediately suspended it to enable him to file an appeal in the High Court after the Minister filed a memo to this effect. In all, the court convicted 16 people, including the Minister, out of the 108 accused in the case. It also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the Minister. The case pertained to stoning of buses during a protest at Bagalur near Hosur in Krishnagiri district in 1998 during a protest rally against illicit liquor. Reddy was in the Bharatiya Janata Party then.
