Chennai, 16th June 2023: Tamil Nadu minister K Ponmudy slammed governor RN Ravi late Thursday, telling him not to act like a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agent amid a new spat between the latter and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) administration over the reallocation of minister V Senthil Balaji’s portfolios.
Ponmudy stated that Ravi returned a file given to the governor by Chief Minister MK Stalin for the relocation following Balaji’s arrest on money laundering accusations and hospitalisation on Wednesday. Ponmudy called a late-night news conference after Ravi refused to sign the file, claiming it was deceptive and wrong.
Ponmudy addressed the press when Stalin summoned a meeting and asked Ravi to sign the file again.
Stalin requested that Balaji’s electricity, prohibition, and excise portfolios be transferred to ministers Thangam Thennarasu and S Muthusamy. Ravi and the DMK government have been at odds over some topics.
Balaji was placed in court remand until June 28 after being detained on Wednesday in a 2011-2015 corruption case, despite being hospitalised at a Chennai hospital, where doctors suggested emergency heart surgery.
Following Balaji’s arrest, the DMK chastised the BJP-led Union government for misusing federal investigation authorities. Senior counsel and DMK politician NR Elango petitioned the Madras high court, alleging that the minister was arrested without proper processes, such as a summons.
