Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who has steadfastly backed his jailed Minister V Senthil Balaji amid a massive row following a corruption case against him, called for a meeting of senior leaders and legal experts today at 10:30 am, sources said.
DMK supporters have put up posters near Anna Arivalayam, DMK headquarters in Chennai, raising questions to Governor RN Ravi against Union Ministers who are still in the cabinet with several cases registered against them.
A strong-worded letter will be sent to Governor RN Ravi, DMK sources have said.
The Governor wrote a second letter to Chief Minister Stalin, just five hours after his earlier communication, conveying that the Home Ministry has asked him to seek legal opinion from the Attorney General and till then, his earlier communication has been kept in abeyance.
“The Governor has backtracked and he has been exposed thoroughly,” a DMK office-bearer told news agency PTI adding all the political manoeuvring of the BJP to target the DMK has been backfiring in Tamil Nadu.
In the earlier communication, the first of its kind in recent memory, RN Ravi had announced the dismissal of Minister V Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers without consulting Chief Minister MK Stalin.
MK Stalin earlier lashed out at the Governor, saying he does not have the right to dismiss the minister and that his government will proceed legally in the matter.
Mr Balaji, who was arrested two weeks ago and is in jail amid criminal proceedings in an alleged cash-for-jobs scandal, had been retained as a minister without portfolio by Mr Stalin, a decision that Governor Ravi had decided to unilaterally override.
In an official statement, the Raj Bhavan said Mr Balaji “is facing serious criminal proceedings in a number of cases of corruption, including taking cash for jobs and money laundering.” “Under these circumstances, the Governor has dismissed Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect,” it said.
The judicial custody of Minister Senthil Balaji, who underwent a bypass surgery soon after his arrest, was extended till July 12.
V Senthil Balaji is an influential leader in the western Kongu region. He was previously with the AIADMK before joining the DMK years ago.