Hours after ED raids, Tamil Nadu withdraws general consent to CBI
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Chennai: Tamil Nadu on Wednesday become the 10 th state to withdraw the general consent that the Central Bureau of Investigation enjoys to carry out investigation in the states.
The decision is taken hours after Enforcement Directorate arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji in a money laundering case on Wednesday.
The withdrawal of the consent meant that CBI has to obtain the state government’s permission to carry out investigation in the state and its residents, according to NDTV.
The states to have already withdrawn consent are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal.
The move is obviously a ‘precaution’ against alleged ‘misuse of Central agencies’.
The Enforcement Directorate's raid in offices and minister’s residence irked the DMK administration with chief minister MK Stalin calling it as an ‘assault on federalism’.
Stalin stated that Enforcement Directorate ‘in a needless way’ breached into the secretariat housing ‘state’s security related confidential files’, and ‘staged a drama entering at the minister’s office.’
The state governments’ move against CBI will not affect investigation being carried out by ED or the National Investigation Agency.
Prior to Tamil Nadu, Punjab was the last to withdraw general consent to CBI in 2020 when the Congress government of Amarinder Singh in power followed by Jharkhand, where the Congress is in the ruling alliance, according to the report.