Chennai: Ridiculing the CBI raids against the
Maran brothers over the Aircel-Maxis deal, Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday said they appeared to be an
"eyewash" and an exercise in "cheating" the people.
"The CBI raids against Maran brothers, their offices and
associates appear to be a mere eyewash to hoodwink public. We
do hope something would come off these raids but it seems to
be an execrise in cheating public," she told reporters here.
The raids have taken place more than four years since news
about the deal broke in the media. "In these four years so
much meaningful action could have been taken. It is very
difficult to imagine that in this interval of four years the
Maran brothers would still be keeping incriminating documents
in their residences or office premises.
"So we will have to wait and watch if anything comes out
of it," Jayalalithaa said a day after CBI raided residences of
former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother media
baron Kalanidhi Maran here and seven other locations.
The CBI raids came after it registered an FIR against the
Marans in connection with the controversial Aircel-Maxis deal,
alleging that Dayanidhi received Rs 547 crore as kickbacks
from the Malaysian company.
Karuna backs Maran brothers after CBI raids
Meanwhile, breaking his silence on the CBI action against the Maran brothers over the Aircel-Maxis deal, DMK President M Karunanidhi today said his support would always be with them to face the present situation.
"I treat my daughter Kanimozhi and Maran brothers equally. Reports that I did not support Maran brothers is a part of a conspiracy by some vested interests to destroy the DMK totally," he said in a statement a day after CBI searched the residences of Maran brothers and eight other locations.
The DMK patriarch said he was keeping mum on the CBI cases against Kanimozhi in connection with the 2G spectrum issue and raids on Maran brothers only because the Centre was saying that it would not interfere in judiciary and CBI acts.
"I do not want to politicise these things, but some media and vested interests have magnified these and stated that I have ignored the raids conducted on the residences of Kalanidhi Maran and Dayanidhi Maran, my grandnephews. These reports have mentally hurt me", Karunanidhi said.
He said Maran brothers "are like my sons and my support to them to face the situation arising out of the raids legally will always be there. I appeal to the people not to believe the reports that I have not supported the Maran brothers". "I have the same interest that Kanimozhi, against whom the CBI has registered a case on the 2G issue and the Maran brothers, on whom cases had been foisted, come out clean. I never hesitated to face any issue legally and will never do so in future also. I have complete faith in the doctrine that justice will ultimately triumph," he said.
The CBI had searched the residence of Maran, former Telecom minister and eight other locations after registering a case against him in connection with the controversial Aircel-Maxis deal, alleging that he received Rs 547 crore as kickbacks from the Malaysian company.
The CBI has also accused his brother Kalanithi Maran, SUN Direct TV Pvt Director, Chairman of Maxis Communication T Ananda Krishnan, senior executive of Astro All Asia Network and Maxis Ralph Marshall and three companies Astro All Asia Networks, Sun Direct TV and Maxis Communications of complicity.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 15:11