Tamil Nadu's ruling party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Monday said that Governor RN Ravi's 'blatant refusal' to accede to Chief Minister MK Stalin's request to appoint legislator and senior party leader K Ponmudy as the Higher Education Minister is violative of the Constitution.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had earlier written to Governor RN Ravi, recommending that Ponmudy be reinducted into the Cabinet to the same portfolio he had held before his conviction in a disproportionate assets case by the Madras High Court.
After Tamil Nadu Governor's refusal to do the above, the state government moved the Supreme Court on the matter on Monday.
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What Did DMK Say
The Tamil Nadu Assembly had officially declared that the disqualification ceased to operate and the Election Commission withdrew notification on vacancy of Ponmudy's constituency Tirukoyilur.
DMK Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate P Wilson said the Governor is proving to be a "repeat offender and is acting with scant regard to the Constitution, adding that Governor Ravi has given his own interpretation of the Supreme Court's order stating that the conviction has only been “suspended, not set aside”.
This is an absurd interpretation and is an affront to the Supreme Court’s order, Wilson said.
"When he has stooped to the levels of wilfully violating orders of the Supreme Court, desecrating the Constitutional provisions, and ignoring the rule of law, he is not fit to hold the post any longer," the senior advocate said in a post on X.
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SC Agrees To Consider Plea On Ponmudy's Appointment
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a plea of the Tamil Nadu government against the refusal of Governor Ravi to appoint Ponmudy as a minister in the state cabinet.
When the conviction order of the High Court is "suspended" by the Supreme Court, it means that the order is non-existent in the eyes of law.
"This interpretation accorded by the Governor cannot be a mere ignorance of law but wilful and wanton violation of the order of the SC for which the Governor must be prosecuted for contempt," Wilson said.
The Governor's confrontation with the Government is unsurprising since he is acting as the "defacto President of the TN’s BJP unit", the Rajya Sabha MP said. He accused the governor of having "a proclivity to seek media attention, adding that the "current action he has committed gross constitutional impropriety and contempt of court."
