Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Thursday dismissed jailed DMK leader V Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested the Minister in an alleged cash-for-jobs scam case in the transport department.
"Minister V Senthil Balaji is facing serious criminal proceedings in a number of cases of corruption including taking cash for jobs and money laundering...Under these circumstances, Governor has dismissed him from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect," Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan said in a statement.
Balaji was arrested on June 14 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in an alleged cash-for-jobs scam. The scam is set to have allegedly taken place when he handled the transport department in the J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government. He is now Minister without Portfolio after those handled by him were re-allocated to his cabinet colleagues Thangam Thennarasu and S Muthusamy.
ED raids Balaji’s premises
Earlier, the ED conducted searches against Balaji and some others as part of a money laundering investigation and held multi-city searches. The raids were carried out at Balaji's premises in state capital Chennai and his native Karur. Besides these, ED officials also searched the house of a Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) lorry contractor in Erode district. State-run TASMAC is the retailer of liquor in Tamil Nadu. Balaji also held the Prohibition and Excise portfolio.
The Supreme Court had earlier allowed police and ED to probe into an alleged cash-for-jobs scam against Balaji, who was earlier with the AIADMK. He was Transport Minister in the late Jayalalithaa-led Cabinet. The ED conducted the searches under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.
Stalin on Governor's move
Reacting to the development, Chief Minister MK Stalin said Governor Ravi has no authority to dismiss a minister from the Cabinet. The government will face the issue legally, he told reporters. Allies of the DMK, including Left parties, also rallied behind the ruling party and condemned the actions of the Governor.
Political analyst Durai Karuna said it was the exclusive prerogative of the chief minister to induct ministers into the Cabinet or drop them from the Council of Ministers. "In the past about 4-5 decades, I have not seen or heard of a Governor dropping a minister from the Cabinet without the recommendation of the chief minister," he told news agency PTI.
Governor Ravi's dramatic move, the likes of which has not been witnessed in recent times, is likely to further intensify the ongoing tug of war between him and the DMK regime over several issues such as the Bills awaiting the Governor's assent.
Following 47-year-old Balaji's arrest early on June 14, he was retained by the government as a minister without portfolio and the subjects held by him were allocated to Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu (Electricity) and Housing Minister Muthusamy (Excise). Balaji is currently in judicial custody in a criminal case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. A few other criminal cases against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC are being investigated by the state police.
After his arrest, Balaji had complained of chest pain and was admitted to a government hospital. Later, he underwent a bypass surgery at a private hospital. On May 31, the Governor had sent a letter to the CM asking him to drop Senthil Balaji from the Cabinet, and the very next day Stalin had given a detailed reply.
Ravi had initially returned the file related to reallocation of portfolios to the government, but eventually he gave his consent to the proposal.
(With agencies input)
