The Governor of Tamil Nadu, R.N. Ravi, has dismissed V. Senthilbalaji, a Minister in the Council of Ministers of Tamil Nadu — as in the communication issued by the Raj Bhavan on June 29, 2023. (The Governor later backtracked on his decision late in the night, keeping the “dismissal” order in abeyance.) The operative part of the press release issued by the Raj Bhavan is that “there are reasonable apprehensions that continuation of Thiru V. Senthilbalaji in the Council of Ministers will adversely impact the due process of law, including fair investigation that may eventually lead to breakdown of the Constitutional machinery in the State”. Hence, the dismissal of the Minister.
Editorial | Constitutional misadventure
This unprecedented and deliberately provocative act of dismissing a Minister of a government which enjoys an absolute majority in the State legislature, without the recommendation of the Chief Minister of the State, is going to set a dangerous precedent and has the potential to destabilise State governments putting the federal system in jeopardy. If Governors are allowed to exercise the power of dismissal of individual Ministers without the knowledge and recommendation of the Chief Minister, the whole constitutional system will collapse.
