2G scam: DMK general council defends Raja, Kanimozhi

New Delhi, July 25: The general council of the DMK which met here on Sunday has backedA Raja andM Kanimozhi, both of who are in prison in connection with allegations over the 2G spectrum allocation. It sought their release, pointing out that they were not convicted yet.

The general council also backedDayanidhi Maran who became the latest DMK member to bow out of the union cabinet, and accused the CBI of having a bias in striving to deny the bail pleas of Raja and Kanimozhi. Dayanidhi Maran was among the senior leaders who attended the deliberations of the party leadership here.

“Having a 20% shareholding in the (Kalaignar) television channel that is alleged to have received funds is held as a crime against Kanimozhi and the channel’s official Sarath Kumar, and the CBI has shown undue haste and bias in dealing with them,” stated an official release of the party after the general council.

“The manner in which the CBI is opposing Kanimozhi’s bail pleas appears to be done with some partisan intention to keep her behind bars,” one of the resolutions carried by the general council said. The party leadership said her continued imprisonment was against the principle of natural justice.

Making a strong case for Kanimozhi’s release, the general council pointed out statements by law minister Salman Khurshid and former law minister Veerappa Moily, and even BJP leaders Jawant Singh and Yashwant Sinha that a person should not be allowed to languish in prison until proven guilty.

The general council also pointed to an Economic Times editorial on the issue, as well as a statement by CBI special judge OP Saini, who asked the prosecution, “Do you want the accused to languish in jail?”, to support the party’s demand for an early release from jail for the party leaders.

Pointing out the aspect that the estimated loss in the 2G spectrum allocation was a notional loss, the general council said the resignations of its party members was with the intention of proving their innocence, including the recent resignation of Dayanidhi Maran. The resolution said the party continued to keep faith in the judiciary.

-Agencies