Ram Jethmalani, senior counsel for Kanimozhi, said in the court on Friday, "Assuming for a moment that it was at Raja's instance that a bribe was paid to Kalaignar TV, what is the offence Kanimozhi committed? She is only a minority shareholder and not a director in the board. Jethmalani does not belong to DMK and does not hold any post in the party.
He is defending Kanimozhi and Raja will be defended by his advocate. This is how court proceedings work. There is a palpable change in the DMK's attitude towards the former telecom minister, admit a section in the party. Nifty 18, Zomato Ltd. Market Watch. ET NOW. Brand Solutions. Video series featuring innovators. ET Financial Inclusion Summit. Malaria Mukt Bharat. Wealth Wise Series How they can help in wealth creation.
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Media persons, who waited for two long hours at the State Secretariat where Chief minister M Karunanidhi held a meeting with officials to discuss the issue of distribution of free colour televisions, had to return disappointed as he did not offer any byte on the arrest of former telecom minister A Raja.
The DMK officially clammed up without any reaction to the arrest of Raja, whom the party was defending through a Raja is innocent campaign to counter the opposition tirade on the 2G Spectrum scam. The DMK headquarters at Tenyampet in central Chennai wore a deserted look with none of the leaders present there. The party is holding its crucial general council meeting here on Thursday, where the Raja issue is likely to come up when it meets to discuss election strategy for the assembly polls.
The chief minister is expected to make the final speech, sometime towards the evening after a day-long deliberations of party leaders from all over the state, where he will indicate what the party would do in the wake of the arrest of Raja and how to counter its impact in the elections.
While DMK officially maintained silence over the arrest, some leaders privately admit that the issue would cost the party dear. Requesting not to be named, a senior party leader said pressure would now mount on DMK supremo from within the family — union chemicals minister MK Alagiri and deputy chief minister MK Stalin — to distance the party from Raja. Dayanidhi Maran can be seen sitting right next to Karunanidhi during rallies, and A Raja continues to campaign in his key districts.
As he rolled on to the stage on his wheelchair, he was flanked by key figures in the DMK. He made a blistering attack on Jayalalithaa for running a corrupt government in his address, and right beside him, helping him turn the pages of his speech copy, was a the ever-grinning grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran. The irony of Karunanidhi taking on Jayalalithaa over corruption with Maran sitting right beside him, was lost on very few.
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