'Your letters require only outright disregard': MK Stalin's reply to TN Guv over minister dismissal

Stalin said the governor has no power to dismiss his ministers and that doing so is the sole prerogative of an elected chief minister.

Starting his letter to the governor with a polite "vanakkam", Stalin went on to accuse him of issuing veiled unsubstantiated threats and points out that the chief minister and his cabinet enjoy the confidence of the people, who are "the ultimate sovereign".

"I have received your letters dated 29.06.2023 one at 7.00 pm 'said to be dismissing' Thiru V Senthil Balaji from my Cabinet and the other on the same day at 11.45 pm 'keeping in abeyance' the said letter. Though your letters require only an outright disregard, I am writing to you to clarify both the facts and law on the issue on hand," Stalin's letter read.

Stalin points out that the aid and advice of the chief minister and the cabinet was neither sought nor given for both letters.

"The fact that within a few hours, after you issued such a strongly worded first letter, even alluding to 'breakdown of constitutional machinery', a not so veiled threat, you withdrew it 'to seek the opinion of the Attorney General'. This shows that you had not even taken a legal opinion before such an important decision," the letter stated.

Stalin said the Constitutional bench of the court had left it to the wisdom of the Prime Minister and the chief minister to decide whether a person should continue in their cabinet as a minister.

"Therefore, merely because an agency has commenced investigation against a person, he or she does not become legally incapacitated to continue as a minister," Stalin said, adding, "The above paragraph unambiguously states that disqualification is attracted only after conviction. Thiru V Senthil Balaji, as even your letter notes, has only been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for investigation and not even a charge sheet has been filed against him till now."

The chief minister signed off saying, "Your unconstitutional communication dismissing my minister without my advice is void ab initio and non-est in law and hence has been disregarded."

Hours after dismissing jailed Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji from the state cabinet without consulting Chief Minister MK Stalin, Governor RN Ravi put his order on hold on the advice of the Union Home Ministry on Thursday.

The Governor had also sent a letter to Chief Minister MK Stalin, stating that his order was put on hold.

Balaji, who is in jail and faces serious criminal proceedings in several corruption cases including a cash-for-jobs scandal, was retained as a minister without portfolio by Stalin.