By Arun Janardhanan / The Indian Express
Tamil Nadu Transport Minister R S Rajakannappan was stripped of his portfolio on Tuesday, two days after he allegedly harassed a Dalit officer in his constituency Ramanathapuram.
Rajakannappan’s Transport portfolio has been allocated to S S Sivasankar, Raj Bhavan said in a press release, in what could be termed the first Cabinet reshuffle after Chief Minister M K Stalin came to power in May 2021.
Sivasankar’s Cabinet portfolios – including Backward Classes Welfare – have been allocated to Rajakannappan. He has been redesignated as Backward Classes Welfare Minister.
Top sources in the government confirmed that the reason for the reshuffle was the complaint against Rajakannappan for harassing Block Development Officer Rajendran. The alleged incident took place on Sunday. “He harassed a Dalit officer, using casteist slurs. So the Chief Minister gave him the portfolio that looks after backward communities and their welfare, probably to teach him a lesson,” a source said.
Rajendran, 57, from Mudukulathur in Ramanathapuram was summoned by Rajakannappan to his Sivaganga residence on Sunday. According to his statement, the moment he entered the minister’s residence and wished him, Rajakannappan called him an “SC (Scheduled Caste) BDO”.
“That was the first thing he said, ‘SC BDO’. Then he said I only listen to the Chairman… He was shouting at me… He said he was retaining me in the position only because I belong to the SC community,” Rajendran said.
“He said he would not let me continue anymore in the position, that I will be transferred soon to a northern district. Shouting at me, he said I have no right to sit in the seat and kept on calling me ‘SC BDO,’ at least 5-6 times. I was sitting and crying before him. He treated me like a dog and (he) said get out of the house…,” he said. “Here, I am submitting what exactly had happened, nothing more or less. The incident put me to extreme mental trauma, I haven’t had such an insult in my 57 years of life.”
Known for money and muscle power, Rajakannappan had faced many corruption allegations and changed several parties over the years. A former minister of the first Jayalalithaa Cabinet in 1991-96, he was made accused in a disproportionate assets case. However, he was acquitted in 2015.
This article firs appeared on indianexpress.com