Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa tonight sacked senior cabinet colleagues M. Thambi Durai and N. Thalavai Sundaram, apparently over the controversial allotment of land to an educational institution.Durai, who held the Education, Science and Technology portfolio, and Sundaram, who was in charge of the Revenue department, were dropped with immediate effect from the Cabinet on the advice of the Chief Minister, a Raj Bhavan statement said.The Hosur-based Adhiyaman Educational and Research Institution floated by Thambi Durai was recently granted post facto permission for over 216 acres of land already held by the institution. A PIL was filed in Madras High Court challenging the government order which sought to give land ceiling exemption, violating the Tamil Nadu Land Ceiling Act. Sundaram was understood to have cleared the exemption.
