Opposition parties rally behind DMK over TN Governor's dismissal of Minister Senthil Balaji

Opposition parties joined the DMK in condemning the Governor's move, which was taken without consulting CM Stalin and later put on hold on the advice of Amit Shah.

The Opposition on Friday demanded the removal of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi over the "outrageous" episode involving the dismissal of Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji, calling it "unconstitutional".

Parties including the Congress, CPI(M), Trinamool Congress and NCP joined the DMK in condemning the Governor's move, which was taken without consulting Chief Minister MK Stalin and later put on hold on the advice of Home Minister Amit Shah.

Ravi's initial argument was that Balaji has been arrested and he should not continue in Stalin's Cabinet as he would influence the investigation in his favour.

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Senior Congress MP Manish Tewari said the President should immediately remove the Governor as he does not know the limits of his office. "He shouldn't have taken such a step and it has now been exposed that he does not know the Constitution," Tewari said.

His party colleague and MP Karti Chidambaram tweeted, "The position of Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan (Governor) is completely untenable!"

The CPI(M) too called for the removal of Ravi, as it condemned the Governor's action. In a statement, the party's Politbureau said, "this is a totally unconstitutional act as the Governor has no right to appoint or remove ministers, except on the advice of the Chief Minister".

"Ravi has been taking a series of steps, which amounts to interference in the politics of the state and in the running of the state government. The latest outrageous move to dismiss a minister, though kept in abeyance, makes it amply clear that he is not fit to hold the Constitutional post of Governor. The President of India should recall him forthwith," the statement said.

NCP Working President Supriya Sule described the Governor's action as "ridiculous", and not in accordance with the Constitution. She said the stand taken by Stalin opposing the Governor's decision to dismiss Balaji was correct.

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale said the dismissal of the minister without even consulting the Chief Minister is "nothing but an absolute violation" of the Constitution. "The fight that all opposition parties are fighting today is the fight to save our Constitution and we are together with the DMK in this fight," Gokhale said.