The IRS Officer who was in the news a few weeks ago, Balamurugan, is back in the news again. This time for the fact that he was suspended just a day before his retirement.
IRS officer B Balamurugan stirred controversy by demanding the dismissal of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a letter dated 2 January 2024. Balamurugan accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of operating as an “extended arm of the BJP” under Sitharaman’s leadership, citing the ED’s actions against two Dalit farmers in Salem. The letter alleged that the ED, under Sitharaman, had transformed into a “BJP Policy Enforcement Directorate.”
Balamurugan, Deputy Commissioner of GST and Central Excise in Chennai (North) has a history of writing such letters.
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.
Dhanya Rajendran’s The News Minute took up the “cause” of the Dalit farmers and brought Balamurugan into the spotlight, trying to make a hero out of him. But here is what Dhanya and her team will not tell you.
On 12 July 2021, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department forwarded a letter to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding two farmers, Kannaiyan and Krishnan. The case pertained to the alleged killing of two wild buffaloes, constituting scheduled offenses under sections 51 and 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is obligated to handle wildlife cases due to multiple court orders and the international mandate of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to track such instances. FATF imposes an international obligation on organizations to address wildlife-related cases.
Upon receiving the letter from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, a case was registered, and summonses were subsequently issued. During this period, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was MK Stalin. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opted to dismiss the cases.
IRS officer B Balamurugan, spotlighted by TNM, wrote a letter to the President urging the dismissal of the Finance Minister. In the letter, he accused her of transforming the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into BJP’s B team. Notably, there is no inherent BJP angle in the situation, and if one exists, it may have been falsely added later for sensationalism.
With The News Minute crying foul over the suspension, the following questions arise:
a) Is Dhanya Rajendran unfamiliar with the authority overseeing the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, which dispatched the communication to ED?
b) Does Dhanya Rajendran lack awareness regarding the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?
c) Is Dhanya Rajendran unfamiliar with the All India Service rules and the code of ethics?
d) Is the role of the ED solely focused on prosecuting financial and money laundering criminals, or does it involve engaging in what appears to be advocacy journalism, as suggested by her actions?
Let us see what @dhanyarajendran didn’t tell you and justifiably so as her company’s “daana pani” is linked with, we know who!
1. Tamil Nadu forest department fwd’ed a letter to ED on July 12, 2021 against two farmers – Kannaiyan and Krishnan. The case was related to the… https://t.co/kAanCoc1XC
— Alok Bhatt (@alok_bhatt) January 31, 2024
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