A day after Tamil Nadu Law Minister S. Regupathy wrote to Governor R.N. Ravi seeking his sanction to prosecute certain former AIADMK Ministers who are facing corruption charges, the Raj Bhavan on Thursday, July 6, 2023 issued a press release with certain clarifications.
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The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption case against former Minister K.C. Veeramani “could not be acted upon due to the fact that the State Government has to submit a duly authenticated copy of the Investigation report for further action,” the official communication said. The Raj Bhavan has not received any reference or request in respect of M.R. Vijaya Bhaskar from the Tamil Nadu government, it further said.
With respect to former Ministers B.V. Ramanaa alias B. Venkat Ramanaa and C. Vijayabaskar, the cases have been investigated by the CBI and these are under legal examination, it said.
On Wednesday, an official release from the Tamil Nadu government said that Tamil Nadu Law Minister S. Regupathy had written to Governor R. N. Ravi seeking his assent, without further delay, for 13 Bills that are pending with him, and also for sanction to prosecute certain former AIADMK Ministers, who are facing corruption charges.
The letter had pointed out that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has charged former Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar and former Commercial Taxes Minister B.V. Ramana in the gutkha scam and has sought sanction to prosecute them in the courts.
The State Cabinet, the letter said, had forwarded the CBI’s request to the the Governor’s Office on September 12, 2022. Unfortunately, no reply had been received to the letter and since there has been a long delay, no further action could be taken on the case, Mr. Regupathy noted in his letter.
Similarly, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had sought sanction to prosecute former Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration K.C. Veeramani, and former Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar. The State Cabinet had forwarded this request for the Governor’s nod on September 12, 2022 and March 15, 2023 respectively but again, these have been pending with the Raj Bhavan since then, the letter had stated.
