Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi put the order dismissing arrested minister V Senthil Balaji in abeyance after Union home minister Amit Shah asked him to also seek the attorney general’s opinion on the matter.
In a letter to chief minister M K Stalin on Thursday, Ravi said Shah advised him that it “would be prudent” to also seek the opinion. “Accordingly, I am approaching the Attorney General for his opinion. Meanwhile, the order of dismissal of the minister...Balaji may be kept in abeyance until further communication from me,” said Ravi in the letter, a copy of which HT has seen.
Ravi on Thursday dismissed Balaji from the council of ministers before backing down later at night amid criticism from the state government, which maintained the governor has no authority to do so.
Officials in Stalin’s office late on Thursday confirmed the governor asked for the plan to be kept in abeyance, pending the attorney general’s opinion.
Federal agency Enforcement Directorate on June 14 arrested Balaji over money laundering charges dating back to 2014 when he was transport minister in the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government.
{{/usCountry}}Federal agency Enforcement Directorate on June 14 arrested Balaji over money laundering charges dating back to 2014 when he was transport minister in the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government.
{{/usCountry}}Balaji, who joined the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 2018, collapsed on the day of his arrest. He later underwent a beating heart coronary artery bypass on June 21 and has been hospitalised since.
DMK and experts said Ravi’s move lacked a legal basis.
A statement from Ravi’s office earlier accused Balaji of abusing his position as a minister, influencing the investigation, and obstructing the due process of law and justice. It cited reasonable apprehensions that Balaji’s continuation in the council of ministers will adversely impact the due process of law including a fair investigation that may eventually lead to the breakdown of the Constitutional machinery.
Stalin reacted to the sacking saying Ravi has no authority to dismiss a minister and added they will face it legally.
Ravi, who has been at loggerheads with the DMK government, on June 16 said that he “did not agree” with Balaji’s continuation in the Cabinet, citing the criminal proceedings the minister faces. He accepted Stalin’s recommendation for the reallocation of Balaji’s portfolios. Balaji has been a minister without a portfolio since.
Relations between the Union government-appointed governors and governments have deteriorated in most states where parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule. Governors in these states have been accused of being agents of the Union government. The governors have in turn alleged misgovernance.