Gutka scam: Forced to retain health minister, CM asks DGP Rajendran to stay

CHENNAI: State police chief T K Rajendran expressed his wish to resign as DGP after the

CBI raid

on Wedesday at his place in connection with the gutka scam, but chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami wanted him to continue, sources said.


The government is hesitant to accept the DGP's resignation as it would mount pressure on health minister C Vijayabaskar to quit. AIADMK leaders are worried that Vijayabaskar, once a lieutenant of T T V Dhinakaran, would be more difficult to manage once he is out of the cabinet.

Vijayabaskar was the coordinator for Dhinakaran in the rescinded R K Nagar byelection in which Dhinakaran was the official candidate of the ruling dispensation. Dhinakaran has spared him in his attacks at the EPS government. The I-T searches on Vijayabaskar's premises, which led to the countermanding of the byelection, had embarrassed the government after I-T officials got a dossier detailing money distribution to voters. Also on the list were names of ministers through whom money was distributed.

"Vijayabaskar survived all that. Now antagonising him will invite trouble for many ministers," said a source. The government is in no mood to sacrifice Rajendran either. "When the CBI has not chargesheeted him, why should he go?" is the argument that a senior official put forth.

A few senior bureaucrats have advised the chief minister to wait and watch.

The government, however, is ready with a backup plan if pressure mounts for Rajendran's removal. It will select one among the other DGP-rank officials - K P Mahendran, Sangaram Jangid, J K Tripathy and C K Gandhirajan - as DGP-in-charge and initiate the process of selecting a regular DGP by sending the names of probable officials to the UPSC. The UPSC will shortlist three names and the government can select one of the three as the next DGP. A replacement for Vijayabaskar, however, will pose new challenges to Palaniswami as there would be many claimants to the ministerial berth.

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