'Governor who doesn't know his limits': Congress says President should sack RN Ravi over Senthil Balaji dismissal row

A day after Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi was forced to withdraw an order dismissing jailed DMK leader Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Friday said that the Governor clearly does not have knowledge of the Constitution and demanded that President immediately remove him from the post. “President should immediately remove Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. The Governor who does not know his limits. Governor should not have taken such an unconstitutional step. This clearly shows that he does not have knowledge of the Constitution and is unaware of his responsibilities,” said the Congress leader.

On Thursday, Tamil Nadu Governor dismissed Minister V Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers but the dismissal directive was “put on hold within five hours as per the advisory of the Union Home Ministry.” Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on 14 June in a cash-for-jobs scam. He was later admitted to a government hospital in Chennai after he complained of chest pains. He was allowed by the Madras High Court on 15 June to be shifted to a private hospital of his choice. Tewari had slammed the dismissal of the jailed minister earlier on Twitter too. “Article 164 of COI” The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister… Since Ministers are appointed on the advice of the CM they can be removed ONLY on the advice of CM Unconstitutional Gov," he had tweeted. Meanwhile, on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ongoing visit to strife-torn Manipur, Tewari said that “it is unfortunate that Gandhi’s tour was subverted in this manner”.

“Except for the Home Minister, no minister in the government has even shown the courtesy to visit Manipur. If a senior leader of the opposition has gone there to provide a healing touch, government should have facilitated his tour,” he added. Gandhi’s convoy was on Thursday stopped by the Manipur police at Bishnupur, about 20 kilometres from Imphal, officials said. After arriving at Imphal, he was travelling in a convoy to Churachandpur to visit relief camps in the area. Police officials said the convoy was stopped fearing violence along the route. The blocking of his convoy triggered a political slugfest as the Congress alleged that the BJP-led government is trying to thwart the leader’s visit, while the saffron party accused him of being “stubborn” and choosing to take the road trip even though he was advised to take a chopper as his trip was opposed by various quarters. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .