On a day when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) got eight days to interrogate Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji, his portfolios were reallocated to other ministers.

The ED, on Friday, was allowed by Principal Sessions Judge S Alli to interrogate Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the department on Wednesday in an alleged money laundering case. The department officials searched the Minister’s official chamber at the State Secretariat, and other places across the State, allegedly linked to the Minister.

Alli allowed the interrogation at a private hospital where Senthil Balaji is undergoing treatment for chest pain, which he complained about after his arrest. He was first admitted to a government hospital and then shifted to the private hospital.

A medical bulletin issued by the government hospital’s Director on Wednesday said the Minister underwent coronary angiogram, which revealed triple vessel disease for which CABG-bypass surgery is advised at the earliest.

Meanwhile, a release from the Raj Bhavan said based on the recommendations of the Chief Minister MK Stalin, the subjects of “Electricity, Non-Conventional Energy Development” dealt with by Senthil Balaji, has been allocated to Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management, in addition to the portfolios already held by him.

Further, the subjects Prohibition and Excise, Molasses has been allocated to S Muthusamy, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, in addition to the subjects already held by him.

The Governor, however, has not agreed to Senthil Balaji continuing as a Member of the Council of Ministers, as he is facing criminal proceedings for moral turpitude and is currently in judicial custody.

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