TN Guv accords sanction to prosecute two ex-ministers from AIADMK

Chennai: In trouble for the AIADMK, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has accorded sanction to prosecute two senior leaders of the party, C Vijayabaskar and B V Ramana, who held crucial portfolios in the cabinets led by J Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K Palaniswami, in the gutkha scam being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Ravi, who was accused by the DMK dispensation led by Chief Minister M K Stalin of sitting on the files relating to prosecution of former ministers from the AIADMK, cleared the prosecution of Vijayabaskar and Ramana on November 13, according to an affidavit filed by the Raj Bhavan before the Supreme Court.

Vijayabaskar, Ramana, former Director General of Police (DGP) T K Rajendran, former Chennai Police Commissioner S George are among the 10 people who have been named as accused in the gutkha scam by the CBI.

Gutkha scam relates to ministers and officials allegedly receiving bribes to the tune of Rs 32 crore from companies selling gutkha and other tobacco related stuff to allow their sale in Tamil Nadu, despite a ban enforced by the state government.

The scam, which came to light in 2017 months after the death of late Jayalalithaa, sent shockwaves across the state with Central agencies knocking at the doors of Vijayabaskar and Rajendran, who was then the DGP, for searches.

Vijayabaskar was the Health Minister in the 2011-2021 AIADMK rule while Ramana held the Commercial Taxes portfolio before he was sacked by the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in February 2016.

The affidavit reveals that the Governor took over a year to sign the file – it was sent to him by the state government on September 12, 2002, and he signed the file on November 13, 2023, days after the Supreme Court posed several questions regarding his inaction.

Two more files relating to sanction of prosecution against M R Vijayabhaskar and K C Veeramani, who held Transport and Commercial Taxes portfolio, in disproportionate assets (DA) case are also pending before the Governor. Several former ministers, including EPS’ close associates P Thangamani and S P Velumani, are under the scanner of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC).

The issue of the Governor not sanctioning the prosecution of the AIADMK leaders came to the fore when Ravi “dismissed” DMK Minister V Senthil Balaji from the Cabinet after his arrest on June 14. Though the Governor put the decision in “abeyance”, the Government “disregarded” the communication in this regard.

In a letter sent to the Governor on June 30, Stalin had sought to turn the table on Ravi seeking to know why he continues to maintain an “inexplicable silence” on his government’s requests for sanction to investigate or prosecute former AIADMK ministers.

“Even the request of CBI for sanction of prosecution in the Gutkha case (in which former AIADMK ministers are involved), 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,” Stalin had said.