News Special Reports Tamil Nadu

Who Is Balamurugan IRS Who Called For Dismissal Of Fin Min Nirmala Sitharaman & PM Modi?

January 5, 2024
The Commune

A few days ago, a letter demanding the dismissal of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by an ‘IRS officer’ Balamurugan was made the news headlines by Dravidianist media outlets like The News Minute.

In the letter dated 2 January 2024, Balamurugan accuses the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of working as an “extended arm of the BJP” under Nirmala Sitharaman’s leadership. The issue was raised after ED summoned two Dalit farmers from Attur, Salem, after accusing a local BJP leader of attempting an illegal land grab. Balamurugan in his letter “asserted” that this incident indicated that the ED was aligned with the BJP, and claimed that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman turned the Enforcement Directorate into a BJP Policy Enforcement Directorate.

Who Is This Balamurugan?

An IRS officer B Balamurugan, Deputy Commissioner of GST and Central Excise, Chennai (North) is at the centre of the controversy. Ironically, this letter surfaces at a time when the ED is going after the mining mafia and corrupt business owners in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Balamurugan has been writing such letters for quite some time. He has received “punishments” as well for those letters/statements and actions taken. Balamurugan faced punitive measures when he was assigned to the Hindi cell in Central Government departments, intended for the development of the Hindi language. In response, he wrote a letter asserting his Tamil identity, Dravidian roots, and anti-Hindi protest stance, resulting in his suspension.

He faced suspension for participating in protests related to the “murder” of Eelam Tamils which he claimed to be “orchestrated” by the Central Government. During the Russia-Ukraine war, he undertook a fast in “an effort” to halt the conflict.

Recently, he penned a letter to the President, urging the dismissal of PM Modi on the grounds that he poses a threat to the sovereignty of the country.

Balamurugan is often platformed by Dravidianist and DMK-friendly YouTube channels like Aran Sei, Neerthirai, Tamil Kural, etc.

He had even come in support of DMK scion Udhayanidhi Stalin who had equated Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) with mosquitoes and diseases calling for its eradication.

There is yet another interesting connection to this story. Incidentally, Balamurugan is the husband of advocate ‘Dalit’ Pravina, who represents Kanniyan and Krishnan, the two farmers reportedly summoned by the ED. Dalit Pravina, an alleged Dalit activist, is also known for her letter to Donald Trump during the COVID crisis where she urged the then-US President to use scientific methods to battle the pandemic.

It is noteworthy that Balamurugan is slated to retire by the end of this month (31 January 2024).

Savukku Shankar in his YouTube video alleges that the media picked up this letter at this juncture to portray Balamurugan as a “champion for Dalits” as he had picked up the issue of two Dalit farmers (his wife even has Dalit as a part of her name) while also trying to give the ED which is causing serious trouble to the DMK government in the state, an image of being the extension of the Central Government.

Savukku Shankar alleges that if Balamurugan faces dismissal for this letter, it is possible that the situation would be manipulated to label the “Fascist BJP government” once again against the Centre. It is also likely that Balamurugan will be granted a reserved seat to contest the Parliamentary polls coming up in a few months from now. What is also funny is that the IRS officer seems to be unaware that the President does not have the authority to dismiss a sitting minister, it is the Cabinet that makes these decisions. So was this letter written just to grab attention, one might wonder.

In another revelation that Savukku Shankar made in the video, he claims that in January 2023, Balamurugan wrote a letter to TN Chief Minister MK Stalin, suggesting the creation of a new group called “Dravida Hindus,” to address the Hindus from Tamil Nadu. His rationale was that labelling the Hindus in Tamil Nadu as Hindu like those in the rest of the country is wrong.

What is intriguing is that despite Balamurugan being known for writing such ludicrous letters to various departments, the President, etc, it is only now that his letter asking for Nirmala Sitharaman’s dismissal was picked up by the media especially The News Minute. Nowhere in the article written by Shabbir Ahmed, there is a mention of his questionable background and the preposterous letters he had written earlier.

As the iconic dialogue of Vadivelu from Pokkiri goes “Aahhaa ivvlo vela senju manda mela iruntha kondaiya maranthutene da” meaning “After doing so much work, I forgot about the headbun on my head“.

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