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Following criticism by the Supreme Court during an ongoing hearing regarding the alleged delay and dereliction of duty by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, the Raj Bhavan granted sanction for the prosecution of two former AIADMK ministers – C Vijayabaskar and B V Ramana, in connection with the gutkha scam, which is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The state cabinet’s request in this regard, dating back to September 2022, had been pending for an extended period and was among the two dozen files which were unaddressed by the Raj Bhavan.
In an affidavit submitted by Raj Bhavan before the Supreme Court, it was revealed that the Governor had granted prosecution permission. Another file from September 2022, seeking prosecution of former AIADMK minister K C Veeramani, remains pending, along with several other files.
The gutkha scam, which rocked the state, came to light in 2017, soon after the demise of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa. It was alleged that ministers and top officials, including the then Director General of Police T K Rajendran and former Chennai Police Commissioner S George, had received bribes totalling around Rs 32 crore from gutkha manufacturers.
The two minister against whom the governor has granted CBI prosecution sanction are the then health minister Vijayabaskar during the AIADMK’s rule from 2011 to 2021, and the then Commercial Taxes portfolio minister Ramana before being dismissed by Jayalalithaa in February 2016. They are among the 10 persons accused by the CBI in this case.
Governor Ravi’s decision to sanction prosecution came after a considerable delay, drawing allegations of favouritism towards the accused former AIADMK ministers, a former NDA ally.
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