An Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer, B Balamurugan, faced suspension by the Centre on January 29 after he called for the removal of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The suspension occurred just two days before his scheduled retirement on January 31. Balamurugan was serving as the Deputy Commissioner for Goods and Service Tax (GST) in Chennai.

The decision for his suspension arrived without any explicit explanation except that "disciplinary proceedings are contemplated." However, earlier in January, Balamurugan had accused the finance minister of allegedly turning the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into a tool for the ruling BJP party, according to media reports.

What Exactly Did Balamurugan Accuse the Finance Minister of?

Media sources report that Balamurugan had reached out to President Droupadi Murmu, urging the dismissal of the Finance Minister. His plea was in response to ED summonses issued in July 2023 to two Dalit farmers, Kannaiyan (72) and Krishnan (67), from Salem in Tamil Nadu. The summons were related to a money laundering investigation, with the farmers alleging that a local BJP member was attempting to unlawfully seize their land. Their case had sparked controversy on social media as their caste details were included in the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).

In his letter to the President, Balamurugan expressed, "The incident shows how the Enforcement Directorate has become an extended arm of the BJP." He further accused Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of transforming the Enforcement Directorate into what he termed as the "BJP Policy Enforcement Directorate" since assuming office.

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