Karunanidhi meets Kanimozhi in Tihar Jail

NEW DELHI: A day after the Supreme Court turned down the bail plea of DMK leader and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi , party chief M Karunanidhi again flew down to the Capital to meet his daughter in Tihar Jail. This is the former Tamil Nadu chief minister’s second visit to Delhi in a month.

Accompanied by Kanimozhi’s mother Rajathi Ammal and her brother MK Alagiri, the 88-year-old DMK chief went to Tihar Jail in late afternoon. An emotional Karunanidhi spent nearly 45 minutes with his daughter.

Sources said the DMK chief brought some ‘namkeen’ from Tamil Nadu for his daughter. After 20 minutes, the father and daughter were joined by Alagiri and Rajathi. Sources said both Kanimozhi and Karunanidhi were composed and were seen talking to each other for most part of the meeting.

“The family members were with Kanimozhi for nearly 30 minutes. They spoke in Tamil,” sources said. Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi, Alagiri and Rajathi were not disturbed by jail officials during the meeting. What began as a family moment ended up looking like a party meeting with former telecom minister A Raja and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar joining in.

DMK leaders TR Baalu, K Ponmudy and Duraimurugan were also present. Karunanidhi was in Delhi in late May after Kanimozhi’s bail plea had been denied by the High Court.

Kanimozhi is now likely to remain in jail for the next couple of months till a chargesheet is filed. Her arrest and continued incarceration has widened the rift between the Congress and the DMK.

The Rajya Sabha MP, who was denied bail by the Supreme Court on Monday, was arrested on May 20 for conspiracy in accepting a Rs 214-crore kickback. The CBI alleges that she colluded with A Raja, who as telecom minister allegedly cheated the government by selling mobile network licences and frequency to companies at throwaway prices.