2G scam:‘Foreign' money flowed into Chennai firms

NEW DELHI: Trouble was brewing for former telecom minister A Raja and his Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham though party chief M Karunanidhi defended Raja saying that he is yet to be declared guilty in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

An Enforcement Directorate official has said that ED’s investigations of the money trail of telecom companies that benefited from the spectrum allocation and their links with Chennai-based companies was likely to expose Raja and DMK.

ED has already submitted a report on the investigations that it conducted on investments in Cyprus, Mauritius, Libya and UAE. According to the ED official, soon after licences for 2G spectrum were dispersed, huge amounts flowed into Chennai-based companies’ account from these countries.

With the SC monitoring the probe, DMK’s ‘well wishers’ may not be able to calibrate investigations or organise relief for Raja. The agencies have been directed to complete the investigations by February and the findings could be damning for DMK that faces assembly elections in Tamil Nadu by May 2011.

DMK’s principal rival, the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, has already made 2G allocation case the campaign theme for the assembly polls. AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa, who criticised the United Progressive Alliance government’s refusal to constitute a joint parliamentary committee to probe the issue said, “the more the UPA government resists, the more it confirms that the buck does not stop with Raja.”

She said that Raja’s resignation was not enough and that the probe had to go beyond estimating the loss suffered by the nation. “The quantum of kickbacks for perpetrating this mega scam has to be ascertained. The beneficiaries of these kickbacks have to be questioned.

The money trail has to be traced. The money has to be recovered. The guilty have to be punished. And the people have to be kept informed on a day-to-day basis of the developments. Justice has to not only be done, it should be seen to have been done,” she said.

The Manmohan Singh government’s decision to allow CBI to conduct raids at the residences of the former telecom minister is unlikely to affect Congress’ relations with its Tamil Nadu alliance partner.

The government asked Raja, who enjoys the backing of Karunanidhi, to step down as minister only after the Comptroller and Auditor General indicted him and the Supreme Court questioned his continuance in the Union Cabinet.

Congress managers maintain that given the tough posture adopted by the apex court, Raja’s ouster was inevitable. DMK too was reconciled to his removal.

After the Supreme Court had reprimanded CBI for doing precious little on unearthing the scam, the DMK leadership had seen CBI raids coming. With assembly elections round the corner, Karunanidhi has little option but to stick to an alliance with Congress, arguably the third biggest party in Tamil Nadu.

Congress leaders, hence, believe the DMK leadership will not rock the alliance at this juncture. The southern outfit may have reiterated its support for Raja but is unlikely to persist with him should he become vulnerable. The DMK chief indicated as much this evening. ``If he (Raja) is found guilty, we’ll not hesitate to throw him out.’’