DMK leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin has hit back at the BJP by retaining as a minister without portfolio Senthil Balaji, who was arrested at 2am by the Enforcement Directorate in a case that alleges jobs were given in exchange for cash several years ago.

Stalin has redistributed Balaji’s portfolios of electricity and excise and liquor to other ministers in spite of opposition from the governor.

A division bench of Madras High Court on Thursday allowed Balaji, who has a cardiac condition for which early surgery had been recommended, to be shifted to a private hospital from a government facility. Balaji will have to bear the medical expenses.

Justices J. Nisha Banu and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, in an interim order on the habeas corpus petition moved by Balaji’s wife Meghala, said the minister would continue to be in judicial custody and a panel of doctors constituted by the ED could also visit him.

The period of stay in the hospital would have to be excluded while considering the ED’s period of custodial interrogation, the judges said.

Amid mounting pressure from the Opposition AIADMK and BJP to get Balaji dropped from the ministry, Stalin made it clear that he would continue to be in the cabinet as minister-without-portfolio.

Stalin wrote back to governor R.N. Ravi on Thursday night that Balaji would remain as minister.

State higher education minister Ponmudi told reporters that the governor had renewed his standoff with the DMK government by refusing to accept the chief minister’s recommendation reallocating Balaji’s portfolios to twoother ministers as additional berths.

The governor replied to Stalin, saying the reasons cited by him “are misleading and incorrect”, Ponmudi said.

Stalin has written back to the governor that the latter was acting unconstitutionally and against federal principles as he was bound to act on the advice of the chief minister.

Earlier this month, Stalin had rejected the governor’s suggestion that the minister facing a case be dropped from the cabinet. Stalin had said there was no such constitutional requirement.

In a video statement during the day on Thursday, Stalin alleged that the BJP leadership was engaged in “anti-people” politics and “wants to do its politics through the ED”.

In the video posted on his official Twitter handle, Stalin said: “You all are aware of the unfair troubles being given to Senthil Balaji by the ED. None has any doubt that it is a brazen political vendetta. Taking up a case that is 10 years old, he was confined and subjected to mental pressure. He was mentally and physically weakened and even suffered a life-threatening heart disease because of the ED. Can there be any more brazen political vendetta?” Stalin asked.

“What is the need to investigate such a person by confining him like a terrorist? When the ED officials came, he gave full cooperation and said he was ready to give whatever explanation sought by them. Despite this, he was confined for 18 hours, not allowed to meet anyone,” Stalin added.

“What is the emergency for such an inquiry? Is there an undeclared emergency in the country? Looks so going by the ED’s activity.”

Additional reporting by PTI