Accord sanction for prosecuting AIADMK ministers, TN law minister urges governor
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathy today urged Governor RN Ravi to accord early sanction for prosecuting four former AIADMK ministers for corruption.
He said the sanction letters needed to prosecute C Vijaya Baskar, BV Ramana, KC Veeramani, and MR Vijayabhaskar remain unattended. A few days ago, chief minister MK Stalin, in a letter to the governor over the dismissal of Minister V Senthil Balaji, raised the same issue.
In the letter, Stalin said, "It is our duty to point out the fact that while you have written a five-page letter on Balaji, you continue to maintain an inexplicable silence on my government's request for sanctions to investigate/ prosecute former ministers and public servants for offences committed during the previous AIADMK government, which have been languishing in your office for months together. Even the request of CBI for sanction of prosecution in the Gutka case has not been acted upon by you. In fact, these selective actions expose not only your unhealthy bias but also the real intent behind such dual standards adopted by you."
Now, the state law minister has written a letter to the governor giving the details of the cases against the four former ministers.
As per the directive of the Madras High Court, a criminal case was registered against Vijaya Baskar and Ramana for receiving money from gutka distributors. The CBI sought sanction for prosecuting them.
The state cabinet also gave its consent for this and sent a letter to the governor seeking his sanction for prosecuting these ministers on September 12, 2022. There has been no response to this letter and the investigation is delayed in an unprecedented manner.
In two other instances, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption had sought sanction for prosecuting former ministers Veeramani and Vijayabhaskar. After the state cabinet gave its consent for this, letters in this regard were sent to the governor on September 12, 2022, and May 15, 2023. These requests are also impending in the Raj Bhavan.
The minister, in his letter to the governor, pointed out that the governor did not give his consent for prosecuting any of the AIADMK ministers who are facing corruption charges.
Regupathy also pointed out that apart from these, 13 other bills are also awaiting approval.
The minister requested the governor to give his assent to the pending Bills and give his consent for prosecuting the former ministers without any delay.