Tamil Nadu government puts DMK leader Senthil Balaji's dismissal on hold

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has withdrawn an order dismissing jailed DMK leader Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers hours after consulting with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

According to sources Ravi wrote a letter to DMK stating that Balaji would continue to hold his post as a minister.

Balaji’s dismissal was met with fierce opposition from various parties with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin threatening to take the matter to court.

Many leaders said that the governor has no right to sack a state minister.

The ED took Balaji into custody after questioning and when he was being taken to Omandurar Government Hospital in Chennai for medical examination, the minister broke down in the car and had to be carried to the hospital.

Raids were carried out at Balaji’s Karur residence and his office at the state secretariat by the ED sleuths in connection to an alleged money laundering case. In addition to this, the premises of his brother and a close aide in Karur were also raided.

V Senthil Balaji, is Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise in the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government.