New Delhi:
As senior ministers brace for a cabinet reshuffle, Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK met with the Prime Minister today. Mr Maran, who is Textiles Minister, has reportedly been under considerable pressure to resign on account of his alleged involvement with the telecom scam. After the meeting, Mr Maran calrified that he briefed the PM on his department and that he "is still a minister in the Cabinet."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday that the reshuffle is "a work in progress" but refused to indicate when it is likely to take place. Earlier this month, he met with UPA President Sonia Gandhi to discuss portfolios.
Yesterday, Dr Singh told news editors at a private Q and A that his government was being described as the most corrupt one in India's history. Congress sources say the PM is keen on revamping his Cabinet, not just to expel under-performers, but also to collate a younger group of ministers who are free of allegations of corruption.
That could exempt Mr Maran, who is being investigated by the CBI. When he was Telecom Minister from 2004 to 2007, Mr Maran allegedly used his office to harass the man who then owned Aircel Telecom to sell his company to an industrialist known to be close to the Maran family. Mr Maran has denied the allegations. But C Sivasankaran says Mr Maran refused to grant him licences needed to expand his business. When he sold his company, allegedly under considerable pressure and threats, to T Anandakrishnan, the licences were granted within months. And Mr Anandakrishan invested close to 800 crores in Sun TV, owned by Mr Maran's brother.
The CBI is determining whether that money was a quid pro quo for the telecom licences that came Mr Anandakrishnan's way.
Mr Maran's successor in the Telecom Ministry, A Raja, who is also from the DMK, is in jail for conspiracy and cheating.
After Mr Raja, the Telecom Ministry was assigned to Congress leader Kapil Sibal. The DMK expects, sources say, to be allowed a replacement in the cabinet for the vacancy created by Mr Raja's exit. With its 18 Lok Sabha MPs and six union ministers, the DMK is a considerable political force in the UPA coalition. Its working relationship with the centre has been groaning under the weight of the telecom scam because of the arrest of Kanimozhi, whose father is DMK chief M Karunanidhi. Kanimozhi, an MP, has been accused of conspiring with Mr Raja to accept a kickback from the telecom scam. She has been in a Delhi jail since May 20. Mr Karunanidhi has publicly blamed the Centre for her arrest.