New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, Tamil Nadu governor R.N. Ravi on Thursday, June 29 dismissed minister V. Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, escalating tensions between the governor and the DMK-led government in the state.
Late on June 29, reports said that the Raj Bhavan had told the Chief Minister’s Office that the dismissal was “on hold” pending legal advice. Raj Bhavan is yet to release a confirmation on this.
PTI quoted unnamed sources as having said that the order will be kept in abeyance till further communication and that Raj Bhavan will consult the Attorney General.
Earlier, Raj Bhavan said in an official release that Balaji “is facing serious criminal proceedings in a number of cases of corruption, including taking cash for jobs and money laundering. Abusing his position as a minister, he has been influencing the investigation and obstructing the due process of law and justice.”
“There are reasonable apprehensions that continuation of V. Senthil Balaji in the Council of Ministers will adversely impact the due process of law, including fair investigation, that may eventually lead to breakdown of Constitutional machinery in the State,” the release said, PTI reported.
“Under these circumstances, the governor has dismissed Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect,” it added.
Tamil Nadu governor’s press note.
The order has come in spite of chief minister M.K. Stalin deciding to retain him as a minister without portfolio on June 17.
Stalin has responded to the governor’s move saying he has no authority to dismiss a minister from the Cabinet.
VIDEO | “The Governor does not have the powers to dismiss him (Senthil Balaji). We will face this legally,” says Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin as Governor RN Ravi removes Senthil Balaji from State Cabinet. pic.twitter.com/oJtjLID8OX
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 29, 2023
Sources told NDTV that the government would challenge the move in the Supreme Court.
Balaji, was arrested by the central agency, Enforcement Directorate, on June 14 in an alleged money laundering case. He has been in judicial custody since then.
Such a “dismissal” of a minister by a governor without the recommendation of a chief minister is rare in India’s political history.
Last October, another governor appointed by the Narendra Modi government, Arif Mohammad Khan, in Kerala, had sent a letter to the chief minister of that southern state that the finance minister K.N. Balagopal had ceased to enjoy the “pleasure” of his office for having made some statements in public against him.
By then, the governor had threatened publicly that state ministers would be sacked if they speak against him.
Commenting then on the issue, noted constitutional expert and former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, P.D.T. Achary, had told The Hindu that though the governor is the appointing authority of the chief minister, he can appoint a state minister only on the recommendation of the chief minister and “if a minister has to be removed from the post, it can only be on the advice of the chief minister.”
This article, first published at 9 pm on June 29 was republished at 7 am on June 30 with an update.