Chennai:
On record, the DMK stubbornly maintains that it's A Raja will not resign as Telecom Minister despite an unflinching indictment of his role in the 2G scam - the report that blames him was prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
But privately, sources say DMK chief M Karunandhi will study the CAG report on Friday in detail to decide whether it is untenable to keep Raja in office.
Any decision on Raja's future, sources say, will be shared after Karunanidhi's grandson's wedding on November 18. In the meantime, DMK leaders are in touch with their ally, the Congress, to decide whether and how to prepare the grounds for Raja's exit.
The Congress - confronting a joint attack in parliament by the Opposition over corruption - has excused the government's inaction against Raja by citing the congenital co-dependency of coalition politics. "We have to respect coalition dharma," said Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the DMK spokesperson in Delhi said the party has no misgivings about keeping Raja in government. "This case is pending in the Supreme Court. CAG is only an audit forum ...if we go by CAG reports, no minister would be able to function," said DMK spokesperson, TKS Elangovan.
The CAG report is steadfast in its criticism of Raja, who it holds responsible for costing the government nearly 1.76 lakh crores via his mishandling of the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008. . "The Honourable Minister of Communication & IT, for no apparent logical or valid reasons, ignored the advice of Ministry of Law and Ministry of Finance, avoided the deliberations of the Telecom Commission to allocate 2G spectrum, a scarce finite national asset at less than its true value on flexible criteria and procedures adopted to benefit a few operators," says the report.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Prime Minister will decide on whether Raja can continue in office after he returns from Seoul where he is attending the G-20 summit.
In Parliament, the BJP and the AIADMK are leading the Opposition's demand that Raja be dismissed. Both parties have asked for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that will allow the Opposition to be involved with an investigation. However, the government has rejected this possibility.
But privately, sources say DMK chief M Karunandhi will study the CAG report on Friday in detail to decide whether it is untenable to keep Raja in office.
Any decision on Raja's future, sources say, will be shared after Karunanidhi's grandson's wedding on November 18. In the meantime, DMK leaders are in touch with their ally, the Congress, to decide whether and how to prepare the grounds for Raja's exit.
The Congress - confronting a joint attack in parliament by the Opposition over corruption - has excused the government's inaction against Raja by citing the congenital co-dependency of coalition politics. "We have to respect coalition dharma," said Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the DMK spokesperson in Delhi said the party has no misgivings about keeping Raja in government. "This case is pending in the Supreme Court. CAG is only an audit forum ...if we go by CAG reports, no minister would be able to function," said DMK spokesperson, TKS Elangovan.
The CAG report is steadfast in its criticism of Raja, who it holds responsible for costing the government nearly 1.76 lakh crores via his mishandling of the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008. . "The Honourable Minister of Communication & IT, for no apparent logical or valid reasons, ignored the advice of Ministry of Law and Ministry of Finance, avoided the deliberations of the Telecom Commission to allocate 2G spectrum, a scarce finite national asset at less than its true value on flexible criteria and procedures adopted to benefit a few operators," says the report.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the Prime Minister will decide on whether Raja can continue in office after he returns from Seoul where he is attending the G-20 summit.
In Parliament, the BJP and the AIADMK are leading the Opposition's demand that Raja be dismissed. Both parties have asked for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that will allow the Opposition to be involved with an investigation. However, the government has rejected this possibility.
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