2G scam: DMK stands by former Telecom Minister A Raja

February 03, Chennai:

For now, the DMK is standing by its man.Despite A Raja\'s arrest on charges as serious as criminal conspiracy, the DMK has expressed its confidence in his innocence. The DMK says Mr Raja, a massively popular Dalit leader, will remain Propaganda Secretary, a powerful position.

A formal resolution adopted by the DMK\'s General Council declared, \"Raja\'s arrest does not mean he is guilty...there are many precedents to this...Karunanidhi has already clarified that the party would take tough action if he was found guilty.\" As Mr. Raja was produced in a Delhi court, the party in Chennai stressed, \"The DMK is like an open book on this issue.\"

Mr. Raja was arrested in Delhi by the CBI on Wednesday. He is accused of violating government guidelines when he was the Telecom Minister in 2008 to benefit a few telecom operators when 2G spectrum was being allocated for mobile network licenses. The sum of the mistakes made by Mr. Raja, according to the government\'s auditor, could total Rs. 1.76 lakh crore. (2G scam: Ex-Telecom Minister Raja arrested)

Mr. Raja\'s arrest, months before Tamil Nadu votes for its next government, has been a windfall for the Opposition. J Jayalalithaa, who is the leader of the AIADMK, has wasted no time in targeting the DMK and the Centre for trying to cover up the corruption within its ranks. (Read: Jayalalithaa\'s entire statement on Raja arrest)

After his arrest on Wednesday, party sources said that the corruption charges against Mr Raja were unlikely to matter much to rural voters, who are not interested in the 2G scam.

In December, the DMK organized a series of public rallies to project Mr Raja as a deserving leader. But privately, the party\'s first family is divided over Mr Raja. He reportedly continues to enjoy the support of DMK chief M Karunanidhi and his daughter, Kanimozhi. However, Mr Karunanidhi\'s sons, MK Alagiri and MK Stalin, have indicated that the party should not be asked to carry the weight of a leader drenched in a corruption scandal. A few weeks ago, Mr Alagiri, who is a cabinet minister in the union government, had allegedly threatened to quit if Mr Raja was not sacked from his DMK post.








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