Chennai:
The DMK today stressed that the raids against some of its closest associates in connection with the 2G scam will not affect its alliance with the Congress. In Tamil Nadu, the Congress supports the DMK government; at the Centre, the DMK provides crucial 16 MPs to the UPA government.
"This (the raids) is a process to show we are clean and DMK is very open to it," said party MP Kanimozhi, whose father, M Karunanidhi, is the chief of the DMK.
On Wednesday, the CBI raided close to 30 places in Tamil Nadu , taking its investigation into the 2G spectrum to the doorstep of the DMK. Among those whose homes and offices were raided was an NGO which enjoys the patronage of Kanimozhi. A Tamil journalist, Kamaraj, who works with a pro-DMK paper named
Nakkeeran, was also targeted. The raids extended to various relatives of A Raja, the DMK leader who resigned as Telecom Minister last month after he was indicted for the 2G scam in a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
(Read: 2G spectrum scam: CBI takes raids to DMK's door)The CBI says that Wednesday's raids were based on leads found during raids at Raja's own homes in Delhi and Tamil Nadu last week.
After the raids, the Congress said that it believed its alliance with the DMK would withstand the pressure of the 2G inquiry that's now circling the DMK's senior-most rung. Congress General Secretary and Tamil Nadu in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that the CBI raids won't affect Congress-DMK alliance.
"It has nothing to do with relations between Tamil Nadu (leadership) and the Congress. The relations between the Tamil Nadu leadership, that is the DMK and the Congress party are very good, very cordial and will continue as such," Azad said.
But privately, sources say the relationship is fragile and will need to be handled with care.
Raja's resignation as Telecom Minister came after weeks of stubborn resistance even as the CAG report placed him at the centre of the 2G scam, blaming him for costing the government upto Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2008. The charges were grave - that Raja had undervalued spectrum, avoided a public auction, and given 2G licences to companies who lied or misrepresented information in their applications. The DMK initially resisted pressure from the Congress to keep Raja in office, even as he was faulted in a series of hearings in the Supreme Court.
(Read: Will fully cooperate with the CBI probe, says A Raja) What may give the Congress some breathing space is that the DMK in some ways is currently the more needy partner. Jayalalithaa has already said that if the DMK splits with the Congress, her AIADMK will be happy to step in. With elections in Tamil Nadu just months away, that's an unhappy picture for the DMK.
Moreover, as the CBI inquiry progresses, the DMK would rather have a friendly government at the Centre than a hostile one.
(Also read, Supreme Court will monitor inquiry in 2G scam)