New Delhi:
DMK chief M Karunanidhi spent more than an hour at Delhi's Tihar Jail this evening. He spent half an hour with his daughter, Kanimozhi; he also met with his partyman A Raja, and Sharad Kumar who co-owns a TV channel with Kanimozhi. All three are in jail for the 2G telecom scam.
Mr Karunanidhi, who is 87, met with them at the reception area of Jail No. 6. After meeting the three prisoners together, he spent some time alone with Kanimozhi, who was arrested on May 20. The Supreme Court refused yesterday to grant her bail.
There was no confirmation on whether Mr Karunanidhi would attend a dinner tonight hosted by the Prime Minister for all allies in his government. Sources say the DMK president was likely to depute senior DML leader TR Baalu to represent him.
Kanimozhi, reported to be her father's favourite child, has been arrested for conspiracy in accepting a Rs 214-crore kickback. When he was Telecom Minister, Mr Raja allegedly swindled the government of thousands of crores by selling mobile network licences and frequency to companies at throwaway prices. One of those firms - Swan Telecom - allegedly repaid him by sending him a cheque for 214 crores. To avoid detection, that cheque was routed through a series of companies before it was deposited with Kalaignar TV, a Chennai channel co-owned by Kanimozhi.
Mr Karunanidhi had flown to Delhi in May as well after Kanimozhi was arrested. At that time also, he had visited her at Tihar. Sources said he had broken down during that reunion.
His daughter's arrest is weighing heavily on his alliance with the Congress. At public meetings, Mr Karunanidhi has expressed his frustration. "Kanimozhi had travelled from one place to another for campaigning. She worked hard for DMK's victory...she's in prison either because of the Centre's order or indifference or some other reason," said Mr Karunanidhi in his constituency of Tiravur on June 5.