CHENNAI: Reshuffle in the Tamil Nadu cabinet following the Supreme Court's ultimatum. Chief Minister Stalin has removed Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudi from the cabinet.

Stalin was forced to let go of Balaji after the Supreme Court gave an ultimatum that his bail in the black money case would be cancelled if he did not resign from the ministry. This comes as the Supreme Court is set to consider the petition to cancel Balaji's bail tomorrow. The announcement came after the government program in Coimbatore, where Udhayanidhi Stalin was the chief guest and Senthil Balaji presided, was completed. The High Court had suo motu registered a case against Ponmudi last week for making obscene remarks about women and Hindus.

Balaji's electricity and excise departments and Ponmudi's forest department were allocated to three ministers each. Mano Thankaraj, MLA from Padmanabhapuram in Kanyakumari, has been recalled to the cabinet after a gap of seven months. Thankaraj will be sworn in on Tuesday evening.