Veteran journalist N Ram, Director of The Hindu Publishing Group (THG), in an interview with TNM’s Shabbir Ahmed, said that governors cannot dismiss members from the Council of Ministers, which houses elected representatives. He was responding to the recent dispute between the Tamil Nadu government and governor RN Ravi, who dismissed Minister Senthil Balaji following his arrest for alleged money laundering. Ram also suggested the withdrawal of the governor from the state as the latter’s intentions seem anti-people.
RN Ravi and the state government have been locking horns against the former’s unprecedented move to remove a state minister from the cabinet. This has invited sharp criticism from constitutional experts, former judges, and leaders of political parties.
In a TNM interview with Shabbir Ahmed on his show "Yen Endra Kelvi", Ram said that it is Chief Minister MK Stalin's domain to appoint or remove ministers from the cabinet and as per the Constitution, governors have no right to act independently in such matters. Ram also said that Ravi is acting like an agent of the Union government, calling his recent action in Senthil Balaji's matter poor.
In an unprecedented move, RN Ravi on June 29, announced that he had dismissed Minister Senthil Balaji from the cabinet. Senthil was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of money laundering on June 14, and was retained as a Minister without portfolio. But soon after the dismissal order, pressure mounted, forcing Governor RN Ravi to withdraw it.
Ram pointed out many supreme court judgments in the interview, including SR Bommai vs Union Of India and Shivraj Singh Chouhan vs Speaker Madhya Pradesh, to elaborate on how the governor cannot act in his own interest. "The governor is bound to act with aid and advice from the Council of Ministers that is headed by the Chief Minister. His agenda here is to make a ruckus and benefit the BJP to get rooted in the state. But unfortunately, the unintended consequences are different from what they expected. So without delaying time, he should be taken back from the state,” Ram added.
Ram also said that such repeated mistakes from the governor will only strengthen the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and that we are yet to know why he withdrew his decision, but there is a group of officials advising Ravi to take such decisions. However, Ram also observed that sacking Senthil Balaji from the cabinet is against the law and the Constitution.
Watch the full interview here: