DMK, Governor engage in war of words over sanction to prosecute ex-AIADMK ministers

The DMK dispensation in Tamil Nadu and the Raj Bhavan are engaged in yet another confrontation, this time over Governor R N Ravi’s alleged delay in granting sanction to prosecute four former AIADMK ministers.

After Law Minister S Regupathy accused the Governor, in a letter to him, of “sitting on” the files seeking permission to prosecute C Vijayabaskar, M R Vijayabaskar, K C Veeramani, and B V Ramana for the past several months, the Raj Bhavan issued a clarification through the media.

In the clarification, the Governor’s office said a case registered by the CBI in the gutkha scam against Vijayabaskar and Ramana is under “legal examination”, while the state government has to submit an authenticated letter with respect to Veeramani’s case. The Raj Bhavan also added no request for sanction against Vijayabhaskar was sought by the state government.

However, sources told DH that the Raj Bhavan acknowledged receipt of two communication dated September 2022 and May 2023 regarding sanction for the prosecution of Veeramani and Vijayabaskar. DH also accessed a copy of the acknowledgement receipt for both letters issued by Raj Bhavan.

Also Read | 'Don’t further delay sanction to prosecute ex-AIADMK ministers', TN govt tells Governor Ravi

While Vijayabaskar and Ramana are being investigated by the CBI for allegedly receiving bribes from gutkha sellers and dealers for their sale in Tamil Nadu despite a ban, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC) has filed disproportionate assets cases against Veeramani and Vijayabhaskar.

Taking strong objection to the Raj Bhavan statement, Regupathy said he has shot off another letter to Ravi seeking immediate sanction for the prosecution of four AIADMK leaders while pointing out that the Governor “acted so fast” in the case of arrested minister V Senthil Balaji by seeking his removal from the cabinet.

“The truth is that the entire file regarding the investigation against Veeramani was sent to the Governor on September 12, 2022. It is not fair on the part of the Raj Bhavan to say they never received the authenticated report despite acknowledging receipt of the same. Even if we believe the Raj Bhavan’s claims are true just for the sake of an argument, the Governor hasn’t written any letter so far seeking the report,” Regupathy said.

Also Read | Governors shouldn’t talk politics: Annamalai

The Governor’s insistence on Balaji’s removal from the cabinet and his decision to “dismiss” him, which was retracted within a few hours, has triggered a fresh round of confrontation between the state government and the Raj Bhavan. While “disregarding” the Governor’s “dismissal” of Balaji, Chief Minister M K Stalin had asked the governor to explain the delay in granting sanction for prosecution of the former AIADMK ministers.

Regupathy said it was “funny” on the part of the Raj Bhavan to say they didn’t receive any letter seeking sanction for prosecuting Vijayabhaskar despite acknowledging the receipt of such a letter on May 15.

“This shows that the Governor is only concentrating on political work and not administrative work. This also raises a suspicion whether the Raj Bhavan is not under the control of the Governor?” he asked.