DMK to take up Governor's 'sacking' of minister in Parliament

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

DMK supremo MK Stalin on Friday reiterated that governor RN Ravi's self-aborted attempt to sack minister V Senthil Balaji's without the advice of the Council of Ministers was unconstitutional, void and non-existent in law. Stalin wrote a strongly worded letter to Ravi, a day after Ravi dismissed the minister but backtracked late at night, after consulting the attorney general on the next course of action. DMK has decided to take up the issue of governors 'acting as the Centre's political stooges' and disturbing the functioning of non-NDA governments, party MP Kanimozhi said.

In his letter to Ravi, Stalin said though his letters required an «outright disregard» he was still clarifying on facts and law regarding removal of an elected government's minister and cited several judgments to present his case. «I reiterate that you have no power to dismiss my ministers. This is the sole prerogative of an elected chief minister.

Your unconstitutional communication dismissing my minister without my advice is void ab initio and non-est in law and hence has been disregarded,» Stalin said in the letter. Kanimozhi told ET, «governors are becoming political stooges; they are creating problems in every possible way wherever non-BJP and non-NDA parties are in power.» She said that DMK will «definitely take up this issue in Parliament. This can't go on, you cannot disrupt the functioning of the state government again and again.» Congress, CPI-M, Trinamool Congress and NCP have condemned the governor's action.

DMK leaders are trying to rally opposition leaders on this issue. This is not the first time that Ravi has courted controversy. After being instrumental in signing the 2015 Framework Agreement with Nagas, Ravi, who was the Centre's