Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi’s flip-flop and Stalin’s strongly worded reply letter to him saying he doesn’t have powers to dismiss a minister, and that it is his prerogative, has once again brought to light the ongoing Governor-Government tussle.
Ever since he assumed office in Tamil Nadu in 2021, R.N. Ravi and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin have been at loggerheads. At the root of the problem is the fact that the Chief Minister looks at Ravi as the representative of the BJP, who has been sent by the centre to defame and dislodge his government; Ravi thinks Stalin is trying to undermine his authority with his overbearing personality. When Tamil Nadu talks about Dravidian culture and Dravidam, Ravi will talk about Sanathan Dharma. When the constitution calls the state “Tamil Nadu”, Ravi would say that it is apt to call the state “Thamizhagam.” Stalin would pass resolutions on the floor of the assembly against Ravi while his MPs in the Lok Sabha would insist on the central government recalling the governor.
But on Thursday evening, all of a sudden, the no-holds-barred battle between the two reached the highest point when Ravi wrote a letter to Stalin dismissing his minister Senthil Balaji from the cabinet and then withdrew it within four hours. More than Ravi’s five-page letter to Stalin and later his letter saying the order dismissing Balaji is kept in abeyance, Stalin’s reply letter to the Governor has earned him more brownie points among the people of Tamil Nadu.
“You are maintaining an inexplicable silence on my request for sanctions to investigate or prosecute former ministers and public servants for offences committed during the previous AIADMK government, which have been languishing in your office for months together. Even the request of CBI for sanction of prosecution in the Gutka case 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 said in his letter.
On the other side, by keeping his order in “abeyance”, Ravi has helped the BJP scuttle a long court battle which could help the opposition rally together. On the other side, Ravi’s second letter saying that the decision to dismiss Balaji was kept in abeyance, on the advice of Home Minister Amit Shah, has only added strength to the statements that the governors in the opposition-ruled states act on the instructions of the ruling BJP in the centre. If DMK had approached the Supreme Court, all other opposition-ruled states also would have joined the issue with the DMK. And, the rhetoric on state rights and federalism would have once again gained strength.
BJP insiders in Tamil Nadu feel that the Governor acted in haste without consulting even like-minded people. “Ravi’s second letter made it clear that the governor acted unilaterally without consulting the central government or legal experts before dismissing Balaji,” says a senior BJP leader who feels that Ravi’s actions will only spoil even the small space that the BJP has captured in the state.
Though there is no clarity as to why the Governor decided to dismiss Balaji and backtracked immediately, sources say that he acted on the advice of a top bureaucrat in Delhi, who is considered to be Ravi’s super boss. Sources also say that he was upset over Chief Minister Stalin coming out with a government order saying that Senthil Balaji will be retained in the cabinet as a minister without portfolio. Ravi in his letter had earlier said that he cannot allow Balaji to continue in the cabinet.
In the meantime, Ravi’s actions have diverted the attention from Rahul Gandhi’s Manipur visit and also Modi’s speech in Bhopal about Uniform Civil Code. “Whatever the reasons may be, Ravi has made our home minister Amit Shah commit publicly that the home ministry has not endorsed his actions. This is a setback to the BJP in a state where there is a deep anti-BJP sentiment,” says the senior leader. Ravi’s flip-flop has only helped the DMK by pushing back the allegations against Senthil Balaji and talking about the powers of the Governor.
“Two IPS officers--both retired--are helping the DMK every time with such issues,” feels the senior BJP functionary. BJP insiders also feel that their high command has failed to learn a lesson even after the backlash they faced in Puducherry after the Kiran Bedi issue. “She is also a police officer. They don’t think politically,” the senior leader points out.
