Tamil Nadu IRS officer who earlier criticized FM Nirmala Sitharaman, suspended day before retirement
Chennai: Indian Revenue Services (IRS) Officer B. Balamurugan, who earlier criticized Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, was suspended on January 29, two days before he was set to formally retire. According to an official notice sent to Balamurugan, disciplinary proceedings have also been initiated against him. The notice does not mention any reason for Balamurugan suspension, reports thewire.in.
The bureaucrat was in the news for allegedly criticizing Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam, writing to the President Droupadi Murmu and demanding to sack her.
According to thewire.in, Balamurugan had reportedly written to the President Droupadi Murumu accusing the economic intelligence agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) of functioning as an extended arm of the BJP. The officer’s move came following the ED sending summons to Dalit farmers in Tamil Nadu who were engaged in a legal tussle with a local BJP leader.
The controversy arose when the ED issued summons to two Dalit farmers in Tamil Nadu, Kannaiyan and Krishnan, both in their 70s and residents of Attur in Salem district. The farmers were embroiled in a legal dispute with a local BJP leader, Gunashekar. The ED's involvement and its reference to the farmers as 'Hindu Pallars' sparked outrage. The farmers, surviving on a meager Rs 1,000 monthly pension, alleged that the ED targeted them due to their land dispute with Gunashekar, who they accused of attempting to unlawfully seize their property.
Balamurugan, serving as the Deputy Commissioner of Goods and Service Tax (GST) in Chennai, asserted that Nirmala Sitharaman had transformed the ED into a tool for enforcing BJP policies. He labeled the Finance Minister as "unfit to be the Finance Minister of India" and demanded her dismissal. The ED, on January 4, announced its intention to close the case against the farmers, but the closure has not been executed.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Balamurugan's wife, Dalit Pravina, is the legal representative for the two farmers. In his letter to the President, Balamurugan highlighted the incident as evidence of the Enforcement Directorate functioning as an extended arm of the BJP, particularly under Nirmala Sitharaman's leadership.
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Put petty politics aside; it's not about one party, but India: Rahul on TMC's loss in polls
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the BJP's victory in Bengal and Assam assembly polls a "theft" of the mandate, and a big step forward in the saffron party's mission to "destroy" Indian democracy.
Gandhi also came out in support of the TMC, which has been trounced by the BJP in the polls, and urged those gloating over the loss of Mamata Banerjee's party to put petty politics aside.
"Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC's loss.They need to understand this clearly - the theft of Assam and Bengal's mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy," Gandhi said in a post on X.
"Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or another. This is about India," he said in his post.
The BJP ousted Trinamool Congress from power in Bengal and captured power for the third time in a row in Assam in results of assembly polls declared on Monday.
