Corruption cases are not new to Tamil Nadu. Political leaders, including former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, were convicted and disqualified from contesting elections in the past. But, for the first time, a case against a serving Minister has led to an impasse between the Chief Minister and the Governor of the State and the Centre and State governments, and what has the makings of a constitutional crisis.
The events that unfolded this past week hinged on the arrest of Minister V. Senthilbalaji by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in the early hours of Wednesday. The arrest was preceded by a search at his official chambers in the Secretariat. The case has its origins in the cash-for-job charge against the Minister and three others, when Mr. Senthilbalaji was heading the Transport Department in the AIADMK government. The crisis has come after years of the case passing through various courts and the latest action initiated after the Supreme Court gave the go ahead for further investigations.
Though Chief Minister M.K. Stalin accused the ED — which has arrested Mr. Senthilbalaji — of acting out of political vendetta, his critics say this issue has placed the Chief Minister in an unenviable position, pointing to his earlier vociferous campaign against the corruption of Mr. Senthilbalaji. After the death of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Mr. Senthilbalaji threw his weight behind T.T.V. Dhinakaran, the nephew of Sasikala, the confidante of Jayalalithaa. Mr. Senthilbalaji was one of the 18 MLAs disqualified by the then Speaker, P. Dhanapal.
