Kanimozhi puts up brave face, claims alliance with Congress intact

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s favourite daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi — whose clean public image has been dented by the CBI raids on her close associate, Father Jegath Gasper Raj — put up a brave face on Thursday, saying that the action will not put DMK- Congress ties under strain.

However, Karunanidhi maintained a stoic silence over persons close to his second family being targetted by the CBI in its resolve to unearth the dirt over the 2- G spectrum scandal. In a brief and informal interaction with journalists, Kanimozhi, who had on Wednesday claimed ignorance about the CBI raids at the office of the NGO ‘ Tamil Maiyam,’ of which she is a prominent board member, said that the law has taken its own course.

Dismissing suggestions that the DMK will find it difficult to continue in the company of the Congress, Kanimozhi retorted, “ There is no strain between us at all. I am sure that together we will prove nothing wrong was going on.’’ The Rajya Sabha member also used the opportunity to defend her mother Rajathi Ammal, who has been accused of having an alleged role in acquiring prime land worth several crores of rupees in the heart of Chennai.

The land in question was once in the possession of Voltas, a Tata group company. Kanimozhi asserted that one Saravanan, who was a former employee of Royal Furniture, owned by Rajathi Ammal, struck the land deal.

In a separate statement, Rajathi said that Saravanan was no longer associated with her company in any manner and warned of legal action against media houses, which made the allegation about her role in the land deal.

Meanwhile, Father Gasper Raj, who has come under the CBI scanner, hurriedly convened a media conference to deny that neither his organisation nor he had any role in the 2- G spectrum scandal.

In a related development, CBI officials privately said that Rajathi’s auditor Rathinam was not raided on Wednesday. However, sleuths had targetted the house of Akilan Ramanathan, pro- chancellor of the Bharath deemed university in Chennai, which is owned by family members of DMK’s Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Jagathrakshagan.

Ramanathan was earlier secretary to Raja, when he was Union Environment Minister and joined Bharath deemed university after quitting Central Government service.