Chennai: The tussle between the M.Ok. Stalin-led authorities in Tamil Nadu and the state’s Governor, R.N. Ravi, escalated Thursday when the latter sought extra particulars on the federal government’s request to prosecute 4 former AIADMK ministers for alleged graft, prompting the ruling get together to query if the governor was making an attempt to save lots of the ministers.
An announcement launched by the Raj Bhavan Thursday, stated that in one of many circumstances, the state’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) authorities beneath Stalin needed to submit a duly “authenticated copy of the investigation report for additional motion”.
In retaliation, the DMK has questioned in an announcement whether or not the governor was making an attempt to save lots of the previous AIADMK Minister in query.
Tamil Nadu regulation minister S. Raghupathy in an announcement the identical day stated that although the governor’s current press launch claims that the Raj Bhavan was but to obtain the recordsdata on one of many former ministers, it had beforehand acknowledged the receipt of the recordsdata.
“It’s unbecoming of the governor’s workplace to say that they haven’t obtained the ultimate investigation report, which was acknowledged as obtained 298 days in the past,” stated Raghupathy.
He added: “It is usually not clear why the governor who so rapidly wrote in search of Minister Senthil Balaji’s elimination, just isn’t permitting the courtroom proceedings within the corruption case to proceed and is now giving an unsubstantiated excuse.”
Raghupathy in his assertion additionally requested if the governor was making an attempt to guard the AIADMK minister.
Following Balaji’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a cash-for-jobs case, Ravi had final month written to the federal government dismissing the minister. He later, nonetheless, put the order on abeyance.
The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has been at fixed loggerheads with the governor over the previous many months over points like Dravidian ideology, Sanathana Dharma, appointing of vice-chancellors to state universities.
The get together additionally accused the governor of appearing like a Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) agent within the Balaji case. The BJP and its ally AIADMK type the opposition in Tamil Nadu.
The prosecution subject of the previous AIADMK ministers pertains to former industrial taxes minister B.V. Ramanaa and former well being minister C.Vijaya Bhaskar, who’re amongst these accused of taking bribes to the tune of Rs 39.91 crore and allegedly allowing the storage, transportation and sale of banned gutkha in Chennai. The case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
In a separate case, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered a case towards former AIADMK minister for industrial taxes and registration, Ok.C. Veeramani, beneath the Prevention of Corruption Act, for allegedly buying illicit property value Rs 28.7 crore.
The company can be probing former transport minister M.R. Vijayabaskar in an alleged disproportionate property accumulation case.
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The case of the AIADMK ministers
The Raj Bhavan assertion got here a day after Regupathy’s letter to Governor R. N. Ravi in search of his assent to prosecute the previous AIADMK Ministers in alleged graft circumstances. The regulation minister appealed that the governor gave his assent to prosecuting the 4 — C. Vijaya Baskar, B.V. Ramana, Ok.C. Veeramani and M.R. Vijayabhaskar — with out additional delay.
ThePrint has a duplicate of the letter.
Raghupathy had additionally appealed to the governor for his approval on 13 payments handed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Meeting and pending the governor’s approval.
However the governor in his assertion stated that within the circumstances of former industrial taxes Minister B.V. Ramanaa and former well being minister C.Vijaya Bhaskar, the circumstances have been investigated by the CBI and these are beneath authorized examination.
With regard to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption’s (DVAC) case towards former minister for industrial taxes and registration Ok.C. Veeramani, the assertion stated, “the identical couldn’t be acted upon resulting from the truth that the State Authorities has to submit a duly authenticated copy of the Investigation report for additional motion”.
On former transport minister M.R.Vijaya Bhaskar’s case, the Raj Bhavan stated that it has “not obtained any reference or request in respect from the State Authorities”.
The letter despatched by Raghupathy to the Raj Bhavan Wednesday had stated that on 12 September final yr, the state cupboard had forwarded the CBI’s request to the governor’s workplace to prosecute Vijayabaskar and Ramana within the gutkha rip-off case.
With regard to the DVAC in search of sanction to prosecute Ok.C. Veeramani and M.R. Vijayabhaskar, the state cupboard had sought the governor’s approval on 12 September final yr and once more on 15 March this yr, acknowledged the letter.
The regulation minister alleged that every one the representations had been pending earlier than the governor.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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