Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthilbalaji’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case would have ordinarily been a routine legal affair with the Supreme Court’s approval. However, the agency’s ill-timed and poorly executed plan in the wee hours of last Wednesday has snowballed into a national political controversy.
Mr. Senthilbalaji’s arrest against the backdrop of Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit on a “political mission” has given ammunition to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to call the action vindictive. The atmosphere was vitiated by Governor R.N. Ravi, who jumped the gun in seeking his ouster from the Cabinet a fortnight earlier, citing the Supreme Court’s green signal for the investigation against the Minister.
Also read | Power games — the anatomy of an arrest
