CHENNAI: Governor RN Ravi invoked Articles 154, 163, and 164 of the Constitution to dismiss Minister V Senthil Balaji on Thursday but backstepped within four hours following the advice of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The two letters written by the governor to chief minister MK Stalin reveal what transpired between the governor and the chief minister for around one month on the continuance of Senthil Balaji in the council of ministers. The governor has repeatedly insisted that Balaji should be removed from the cabinet and the chief minister also insisted that the governor has no role in telling this.
On Thursday evening, the Raj Bhavan issued a release saying the governor has dismissed Balaji from the council of ministers and the chief minister reacted to the development saying the governor has no powers to dismiss a minister on his own and that the government would face it legally. But within four hours, the news about the governor keeping in abeyance his decision to dismiss Balaji broke. But this time, the Raj Bhavan did not release the letter written to the chief minister in this regard and till the afternoon of Friday, there is no clarification from the Raj Bhavan.
In his first letter to the chief minister on Thursday, the governor recalled that the Supreme Court had made a series of scathing observations indicating serious misconduct by Balaji using the 'shield of office' for protecting himself from lawful consequences and obstructing the due process of law.
The governor said in his letter dated May 31, he had advised the chief minister to drop Balaji to ensure the due process of law besides the call of Constitutional morality and conscience. "Instead of taking my advice in fair spirit, you responded with an inflammatory letter dated June 1 and you used intemperate language and accused me of overstepping my Constitutional limits. Your response disappointed me to say the least," the governor said.
The governor also recalled that on June 15, he received a letter from the chief minister about the reallocation of the portfolios of Balaji as he was being hospitalised but did not mention the fact that he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. "So, I asked you (the chief minister) to give the full facts. However, you refused to give the details and wrote a letter to me using unsavoury language and insisting on me to act without delay on the reallocation of portfolios," Ravi said.
The governor also recalled that he had approved the reallocation of the portfolios but disagreed with Balaji continuing as a minister in the interest of fair investigation. "However, to my dismay, you refused to drop Balaji from the council of ministers and issued a government notification retaining him as a minister without a portfolio," Ravi said and quoted a few observations of the SC on the conduct of Balaji.
"I am conscious of the fact that under ordinary circumstances, a Governor acts on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. However, in the instant case your advice or to put it more appropriately your insistence to retain V Senthil Balaji against my advice as a member of the council of ministers reflects your unhealthy bias," the governor charged.
Ravi also said there are reasonable apprehensions that the continuation of Balaji as a minister would continue to obstruct the due process of law and disrupt the course of Justice. "Such a situation may eventually lead to the breakdown of the Constitutional machinery in the State. Under such circumstances and the powers conferred to me under Articles 154, 163, and 164 of the Constitution of India, I hereby dismiss V Senthil Balaji from the council of ministers with immediate effect," the governor said.