Maran takes his woes to Sonia

NEW DELHI Former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, out in the political wilderness after he lost the trust of the Karunanidhi family, met Sonia Gandhi here on Monday night.

The meeting comes days after the Maran family-owned media group went on a publicity over-drive to mark the birth-day of his uncle���s arch rival, AIADMK chief Jayalalitha. Though the Sonia-Maran meeting triggered political speculations here, the Congress sources chose to underplay it as a mere ���courtesy call��� by the former minister.

Mr Maran was not available for comments, but many see the timing of his visit to 10 Janpath in the backdrop of the increasing problems the Sun TV group facing in Tamil Nadu these days. This flagship of the Maran family���s media group has been reportedly facing blackouts in many parts of the state.