New Delhi:
If ever there were a stress test for the uneasy relationship between the Congress and the DMK, it is this.
Kanimozhi, the daughter of DMK Chief M Karunanidhi, has today been named by the CBI as a co- conspirator with A Raja in the 2G scam. She's also been accused of accepting a bribe. However, Mr Karunanidhi's wife, Dayalu Ammal, does not feature in the new chargesheet filed by the CBI in a Delhi court today. The concession, sources say, is a result of political pressure though it will formally be attributed to a lack of evidence.
Kanimozhi has been asked to appear in the Delhi court trying the 2G case on May 6. Her party is now worried about whether she will be arrested before then. Sources in the CBI say that depends entirely on whether the court orders the agency to send the young MP to jail.
In Chennai this morning, when asked about whether he was concerned about the chargesheet, Mr Karunandhi said, "I do not know about the chargesheet. If such things come out you (media) will put it and I will know about it."
In 2008, A Raja, a DMK leader, was the Telecom Minister when he sold spectrum and mobile network licences for a jaw-dropping low price to companies that were largely ineligible for either, according to government guidelines.
One of those companies - Swan Telecom - allegedly sent Mr Raja a Rs. 214-crore kickback that was routed through a maze of companies but rested finally with a TV channel in Chennai that is owned mainly by Kanimozhi and Dayalu Ammal. Together, they have 80% stake in the company. Sharad Kumar, the Managing Director of Kalaignar TV, owns the balance and has also been accused of conspiring with Mr Raja. Like Kanimozhi, Mr Kumar was interrogated earlier this year by the CBI. Both of them said that the Rs. 214-crore payment was for a sale in equity that unraveled; they claim they returned the entire amount with 30 crores in interest.
The CBI in its chargesheet states, "The refund of the entire amount has occurred after the registration of the CBI case. Infact the date when the refund of the amount started, December 23, 2010, coincides with the date when accused A Raja was asked to join investigation at the CBI office on December 24 and December 25. A major chunk of funds was refunded after December 25, 2010. Investigation has established that pursuant to the criminal conspiracy, accused Raja, Sharad Kumar, Kanimozhi, stakeholders of Kalaignar TV, accepted and received an illegal gratification of Rs 200 crore in Kalaignar TV from accused Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka from the accounts of DB Group Companies in 2008-09, as a reward in lieu of the undue favours shown by Raja."
Mr Raja is in jail. So are Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, both partners in DB Realty and Swan Telecom, which was later sold to Etisalat and is now called Etisalat DB.
Also chargesheeted today for abetment to bribery, are top executives of the companies that Mr Balwa allegedly used to route his kickback to Mr Raja. They include Karim Morani of Cineyug Films; Rajiv Aggarwal of Kusegaon Realty and Mr Balwa's brother, Asif, whose involved with the same company.
The CBI says on different fronts, it's clear that Kanimozhi was an active participant in the running of Kalaignar TV and that she was one of Mr Raja's partners in crime. She lobbied with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting permits for Kalaignar. In Delhi, she campaigned privately for Mr Raja to return for a second term as Telecom Minister in 2008, after the UPA alliance won the general elections.
Her phone conversations with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, who is now a witness in the 2G trial, have done much damage for the young DMK leader. Ms Radia's phones were tapped as part of an income tax investigation and it is in her different conversations that the first picture of the 2G scam emerged.
As recently as Friday, the CBI was insistent that Dayalu Ammal would be listed in the new chargesheet. However, weekend reports suggested that her sons - MK Alagiri and MK Stalin who are both senior DMK leaders - were furious about attempts to link her to the scam. Within the CBI, too, there was allegedly a divide over whether to involve her. Some investigators felt that given the fact that she is in her 80s, and does not understand English, it would be hard to prove that Dayalu Ammal knew of her channel's financial transactions. Both the BJP and Jayalalithaa have alleged that the government is showing undue favour to Mr Karunanidhi's wife.
"Sixty per cent stakeholder Dayalu Ammal has not been named. We certainly wonder if there has been any political pressure as a result of which CBI has hesitated to add name. Has there been a political bargaining? Has there been a political threat that there'll be withdrawal of ministers from the Cabinet?" asked BJP Spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman.
"It is surprising that Dayalu Ammal's name who has 60 percent shares in Kaliagnar TV is not featured in the chargesheet," added Jayalaltihaa.
(Arrest Kanimozhi, says Jayalalithaa)
Whether voters in Tamil Nadu care about the 2G scam will be known on May 13 when the results for the state election are declared - voting was held on April 13. The DMK has fought the elections in an alliance with the Congress. And while sources say the partnership is under significant strain because of the 2G investigation, it will not collapse. The Congress, however, will have the firm upper hand as it negotiates for share of power if the alliance wins.
Sources in the DMK say the party knows that with its senior-most members linked so closely to the 2G scam, it needs any cover the Congress may be able to offer. Convincing the CBI to ignore Dayalu Ammal could be an example of the possible benefits of staying in business with the Congress.
The first chargesheet in the 2G scam was presented a few weeks ago by the CBI - it led to some of India's senior-most executives at different telecom companies like Unitech Wireless and Reliance Telecom (of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) being arrested. Since last week, they have been in jail; their applications for bail are scheduled to be heard by the Delhi High court tomorrow.