Maran issue: nothing for me to comment, says Karunanidhi

Maran issue: nothing for me to comment, says Karunanidhi



CHENNAI: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Wednesday said there was nothing for him to comment on the reports that investigating agencies were probing the role of Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran in the 2G spectrum case.

Citing Mr. Maran's statement made on Monday, the DMK leader told journalists here that Mr. Maran had already said he would face the case himself.

Earlier, addressing a function to solemnise the wedding of DMK organising secretary P.V. Kalyanasundaram's son Kadiravan, Mr. Karunanidhi said the DMK was not just a party or political movement but a symbol of Dravidian consciousness. Even though it had suffered an electoral defeat, its success in social work was out of the ordinary.

Recalling how he alone could win in the 1991 Assembly elections, Mr. Karunanidhi said the party later staged a comeback and captured power. For the first time, it was the DMK that had got 184 seats (in the 1971 polls) in the State, he pointed out.

Referring to the anti-corruption campaign by social activist Anna Hazare and Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, the DMK president, in a message to his party members, recounted how the DMK government introduced the Tamil Nadu Public Men (Criminal Misconduct) Bill in the Assembly in February 1973.

The legislation provided for the appointment of a Commissioner of Inquiries and Additional Commissioners to go into charges of criminal misconduct involving corruption. The Commissioner would be a person of the rank of High Court judge and the Additional Commissioners, of the rank of District Judges. It sought to cover persons including the Chief Minister, Ministers, Members of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council, Mayors and Deputy Mayors. The Bill prescribed imprisonment for up to seven years. In April 1973, the House adopted the legislation.

But All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) founder M.G. Ramachandran described the legislation as a black Bill. The AIADMK government, which succeeded the DMK regime, repealed the law, Mr. Karunanidhi added.

The DMK's high-level committee would hold an emergency meeting on Friday at the Anna Arivalayam, according to a party release.