By IANS,
Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK Wednesday said it would take legal action to establish the truth in the 2G spectrum allocation scam in which Kanimozhi, its Rajya Sabha MP and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s daughter, has been named as a co-conspirator.
The decision was part of a resolution adopted after a meeting of the party’s leadership chaired by Karunanidhi and attended by the top brass, including Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, union minister M.K. Alagiri (both sons of Karunanidhi), general secretary K. Anbazhagan, former central minister T.R. Baalu and Kanimozhi.
The meeting was convened to chalk out a strategy in the wake of Kanimozhi and four others, including Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar, being named co-accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a supplementary chargesheet.
The city-based Kalaignar TV, which runs a bouquet of Tamil channels, is promoted by Karunanidhi’s second wife M.K. Dayalu, step-daughter Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar.
Dayalu owns 60 percent of the company’s Rs.10 crore equity and the balance is shared equally between Kanimozhi and Kumar.
The other three charged with Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar were Karim Morani of Cineyug Films, and Asif Balwa and Rajiv B. Agarwal of Kusegaon Realty. The CBI chargesheeted Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar as co-conspirators after it traced Rs.214 crore as an illegal money trail.
The money trail moved from Dynamix to Kusegaon and then on to Cineyug, all part of the DB Group that promoted Swan Telecom, ending with Kalaignar TV, that gets its name from how Karunanidhi is popularly called – a scholar.
The DMK expressed surprise at the chargesheeting of Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar despite the clarification on the money received from the DB Group company Cineyug.
The channel had earlier stated that the Rs.214 crore was a loan and paid back with interest.
In his introductory remarks, Karuanidhi said Kanimozhi was being targeted by adversaries who could not digest her progress in the party.
He said he is concerned about Kanimozhi because she is an able party worker and not just because she is his daughter.
According to Karunanidhi, not only Kanimozhi, but also her mother and other relatives were shattered by the recent developments.
Karunanidhi said he had not visited Kanimozhi and her mother for the past three days and praised his daughter’s efforts in organising job fairs in second tier cites that got employment for 1,33,998 youths.
He said Kanimozhi was initially reluctant to come to the meeting as there were reporters outside her residence wanting to ask her questions and he had gone there to pick her up.
In its resolution, the DMK said truth would prevail in the 2G spectrum issue. It said it would not fall prey to the media’s designs of trying to create a wedge within the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The party’s 18 Lok Sabha members provide crucial support to the Congress-led UPA government at the centre.
This followed speculation that the DMK might quit the Congress-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh if Kanimozhi was named by the CBI.
The CBI had first named as accused former communications minister A. Raja of the DMK, his personal aide R.K. Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa.
Later, five more corporate executives were added to the list as co-accused — Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech and the Anil Ambani Group’s Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.
All nine are in judicial custody.