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Jaya's man R K Kumar quits ministry

A Correspondent

Union Minister of State for Finance R K Kumar has resigned.

Kumar, who had been allocated the banking and revenue portfolios in the finance ministry, was reportedly under pressure from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham leader J Jayalalitha to neutralise the economic offences cases against her.

A Rajya Sabha from the AIADMK, Kumar's selection for this critical portfolio had raised eyebrows, especially given his low-profile nature. A chartered accountant by profession, Kumar, it was believed, was Jayalalitha's hatchet man in North Block.

Reports suggest that as he was ineffectual in doing his party leader's bidding, she turned the heat on him. In fact, she was reported to have rebuked him during a meeting at her residence, leading to his collapse. A diabetic, his blood sugar levels soaring, he was admitted to a private hospital in Madras. An unrelenting Jayalalitha is said to have asked Kumar to resign, even as he was in hospital, which demand he complied with today.

Reports suggest that Dhalavai Sundaram, another Rajya Sabha MP from the AIADMK, is expected to replace Kumar in the finance ministry.

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