I will not let down Maran brothers: Karunanidhi
October 11th, 2011 - 7:20 pm ICT by IANSChennai, Oct 11 (IANS) A day after the CBI booked M. Karunanidhi’s grand-nephews — former union minister Dayanidhi Maran and promoter of Sun TV and SpiceJet airline Kalanithi Maran — the DMK president Tuesday said that he would never let them down. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa dismissed the action against the Marans as an eyewash.
Conducted across three cities - Chennai, Hyderabad and the national capital - the Central Bureau of Investigaton (CBI) searches in connection with the second generation (2G) telecom airwaves case involved the premises of the Marans as also of Apollo Hospitals director Suneeta Reddy.
Refuting media reports that he and the DMK party were unconcerned about the Maran brothers, Karunanidhi said: “Kalanithi and Dayanidhi are like my children, entrusted to me by their father Murasoli Maran, and I will protect them.”
Karunanidhi said he would support them in their legal battle.
Former communications minister Dayanidhi Maran is under the CBI scanner following a complaint by industrialist C. Sivasankaran that Maran forced him to exit mobile telephone company Aircel.
Sivasankaran alleged that Aircel was not given telecom licences and he was forced to sell his holdings to Malaysia-based Maxis Group owned by T. Ananda Krishnan.
The CBI Sunday registered a case against Maran brothers — Dayanidhi and Kalanithi — under the Prevention of Corruption Act, a probe agency official said in Delhi.
A first information report (FIR) was also registered against Ralph Marshall, CEO of Astra TV that invested in Sun TV, and T. Ananda Krishnan.
Karunanidhi said he did not react to the CBI raids and the case against his daughter and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi as he did not want to politicise the issue. Kanimozhi is in judicial custody in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
He said he kept quiet on the case against his daughter as the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was not responsible for the raids.
In March, Kanimozhi and Karunanidhi’s second wife Dayalu Ammal were questioned by the CBI in Chennai in connection with Rs.214 crore received by Kalaignar TV, in which Kanimozhi and Dayalu Ammal hold stakes, from DB Realty group of companies.
Kanimozhi is in jail now charged as co-conspirator in the 2G spectrum scam, alongwith DMK leader and former communications minister A. Raja.
Karunanidhi accused the media of trying to destabilise the DMK and to hurt him with reports that he was unconcerned about Kalanithi and Dayanidhi.
Jayalalithaa dismissed the CBI raids on Maran brothers as an eyewash and said these were to befool people.
She told reporters here that the CBI would have found nothing at their houses four years after the scam.
- CBI raids Marans, DMK silent - Oct 10, 2011
- Karunanidhi silent as Marans raided in 2G case (Roundup) - Oct 10, 2011
- Kalaignar TV now fights to clear its name - Apr 25, 2011
- Stronger case against Dayanidhi Maran than Raja: CBI - Oct 10, 2011
- Sun TV shares slide on telecom tangle - Oct 10, 2011
- JPC meets CBI chief, may call Maran on 2G - Jun 07, 2011
- Maran will be dropped if probe points finger - Jun 25, 2011
- DMK calls high-level meeting Friday - Jun 09, 2011
- 2G claims another minister: Maran quits (Roundup) - Jul 07, 2011
- Opposition parties ask PM to explain Maran fiasco (Lead) - Jul 07, 2011
- Triggering speculation, Maran meets PM - Jun 30, 2011
- Maran denies forcing Sivasankaran to exit Aircel (Lead) - Jun 06, 2011
- Plea in apex court for CBI probe against Maran, Aircel - Jun 01, 2011
- Kanimozhi: a poetess politician in trouble - Dec 15, 2010
- Decision on booking Maran by Sep 30, CBI tells apex court - Sep 28, 2011
Tags: alliance government, apollo hospitals, astra tv, cbi raids, dayanidhi maran, dmk party, eyewash, j jayalalithaa, judicial custody, m karunanidhi, marans, prevention of corruption act, progressive alliance, rajya sabha, ralph marshall, sabha member, sivasankaran, spectrum allocation, sun tv, t ananda krishnan