Why did he resign?
Maran is a prominent leader of the DMK, a party that has held the telecommunications portfolio at the centre for seven years. Two of his party colleagues are already in jail on charges of selling 2G spectrum cheap and getting huge kickbacks. Maran was the telecommunications minister in UPA-I, and had the authority to grant telecom licences. He allegedly armtwisted C Sivasankaran, who owned Aircel, to sell the mobile services company to Maxis. This he achieved by delaying grant of licences to Aircel as long as it was in the hands of Sivasankaran. Once his buddy, who owns Maxis, had control, the licences were all his.
Maran is a prominent leader of the DMK, a party that has held the telecommunications portfolio at the centre for seven years. Two of his party colleagues are already in jail on charges of selling 2G spectrum cheap and getting huge kickbacks. Maran was the telecommunications minister in UPA-I, and had the authority to grant telecom licences. He allegedly armtwisted C Sivasankaran, who owned Aircel, to sell the mobile services company to Maxis. This he achieved by delaying grant of licences to Aircel as long as it was in the hands of Sivasankaran. Once his buddy, who owns Maxis, had control, the licences were all his.
How do we know the deal was shady?
Maxis soon invested Rs 675 crore in Sun DTH, a company owned by Dayanidhi's brother Kalanidhi. The Malaysian company is reported to have paid more than the market value, and investigators believe the extra money was a bribe by another name.
Maxis soon invested Rs 675 crore in Sun DTH, a company owned by Dayanidhi's brother Kalanidhi. The Malaysian company is reported to have paid more than the market value, and investigators believe the extra money was a bribe by another name.
Who caught Dayanidhi out?
The CBI, which is investigating the 2G spectrum scandal. The sleuths' case was strengthened by C Sivasankaran, a witness in the 2G case, who testified he was coerced into giving up his company to Maxis. That made Maran's position shaky. The CBI might have taken things easy, but the Supreme Court is keeping a close eye on its investigations.
The CBI, which is investigating the 2G spectrum scandal. The sleuths' case was strengthened by C Sivasankaran, a witness in the 2G case, who testified he was coerced into giving up his company to Maxis. That made Maran's position shaky. The CBI might have taken things easy, but the Supreme Court is keeping a close eye on its investigations.
What will happen to the DMK now?
The party's destructive streak continues. Karunidhi, the DMK's patriarch, is a broken man, with his daughter Kanimozhi lodged in Tihar jail. His protege A Raja is also behind bars. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly spoke to Karunanidhi on Wednesday, and convinced him Maran should go. A tired Karunanidhi wouldn't have thought too hard before giving Manmohan Singh his go-ahead. Dayanidhi and Kalanidhi are his grand-nephews. His family's relations with the Marans have been unsteady. As things stand today, he will not stick his neck out to save the Marans.
The party's destructive streak continues. Karunidhi, the DMK's patriarch, is a broken man, with his daughter Kanimozhi lodged in Tihar jail. His protege A Raja is also behind bars. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly spoke to Karunanidhi on Wednesday, and convinced him Maran should go. A tired Karunanidhi wouldn't have thought too hard before giving Manmohan Singh his go-ahead. Dayanidhi and Kalanidhi are his grand-nephews. His family's relations with the Marans have been unsteady. As things stand today, he will not stick his neck out to save the Marans.
Will the resignation hit DMK's ties with the Congress?
Most certainly. The alliance is already frayed. The DMK feels the Congress is not protecting its leaders when they face corruption charges. The Congress now knows the DMK's strength has eroded. DMK has lost Tamil Nadu to AIADMK. It still has 18 MPs, and shares power at the centre. The DMK hopes Maran's position will remain with the DMK, but it is in no position to dictate terms. The Congress and the DMK are still allies. They fought the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu jointly, and fared miserably. The DMK has reason to break away, and so has the Congress. The marriage may not last much longer.
Most certainly. The alliance is already frayed. The DMK feels the Congress is not protecting its leaders when they face corruption charges. The Congress now knows the DMK's strength has eroded. DMK has lost Tamil Nadu to AIADMK. It still has 18 MPs, and shares power at the centre. The DMK hopes Maran's position will remain with the DMK, but it is in no position to dictate terms. The Congress and the DMK are still allies. They fought the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu jointly, and fared miserably. The DMK has reason to break away, and so has the Congress. The marriage may not last much longer.
What will happen to the Marans' business empire?
Sun TV is the family's most visible corporate entity. It offers a host of channels not just in Tamil but in other south Indian languages as well. Sun TV holds sway over Tamil Nadu, thanks mainly to its catalogue of films. Its stocks fell by 8 per cent as soon as Maran was arrested, but recovered some of the loss soon. The family's television business may not be affected, but its cable business is already hit, with Jayalalithaa nationalising the service. The other businesses will be affected, but to what extent and how we will know only as things unfold further.
DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar today appear ED before the Enforcement Directorate here to seek another date instead of May 13 for their questioning in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Sources said the 43-year-old daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi accompanied by Kumar met the officials of the ED (Delhi zone) after seeking an appointment to explain their inability to appear on the scheduled date of May 13 owing to time constraints, as they are due to appear before Income Tax authorities in Chennai tomorrow.
Sources said both the individuals, charged by CBI in the 2G spectrum scam in connection with the channelling of Rs 200 crore to DMK family-run Kalaignar TV through a circuitous route, would soon be given new dates for questioning, preferably after the May 14 hearing of the duo in the Supreme Court for pronouncement of their bail pleas.
The ED had summoned the duo for questioning about the transfer of the Rs 200 crore sum to Kalaignar TV, in which both Kanimozhi and Kumar hold a 20 per cent stake each. Some other transactions are also under the scanner of the ED in the 2G scam.
The ED, according to sources, had asked the duo to provide documents related to their funding, income, properties and their personal investments to the Directorate which will soon begin attachment proceedings against other individuals and certain telecom firms involved in the case.
Besides the cases of Kanimozhi and Kumar, similar summons under the provisions of the anti-money laundering Act were issued to Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa's cousin Asif Balwa , Director of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Rajeev Agarwal and Karim Murani of Cineyug Films (Pvt) Ltd.
Sun TV is the family's most visible corporate entity. It offers a host of channels not just in Tamil but in other south Indian languages as well. Sun TV holds sway over Tamil Nadu, thanks mainly to its catalogue of films. Its stocks fell by 8 per cent as soon as Maran was arrested, but recovered some of the loss soon. The family's television business may not be affected, but its cable business is already hit, with Jayalalithaa nationalising the service. The other businesses will be affected, but to what extent and how we will know only as things unfold further.
DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar today appear ED before the Enforcement Directorate here to seek another date instead of May 13 for their questioning in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Sources said the 43-year-old daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi accompanied by Kumar met the officials of the ED (Delhi zone) after seeking an appointment to explain their inability to appear on the scheduled date of May 13 owing to time constraints, as they are due to appear before Income Tax authorities in Chennai tomorrow.
Sources said both the individuals, charged by CBI in the 2G spectrum scam in connection with the channelling of Rs 200 crore to DMK family-run Kalaignar TV through a circuitous route, would soon be given new dates for questioning, preferably after the May 14 hearing of the duo in the Supreme Court for pronouncement of their bail pleas.
The ED had summoned the duo for questioning about the transfer of the Rs 200 crore sum to Kalaignar TV, in which both Kanimozhi and Kumar hold a 20 per cent stake each. Some other transactions are also under the scanner of the ED in the 2G scam.
The ED, according to sources, had asked the duo to provide documents related to their funding, income, properties and their personal investments to the Directorate which will soon begin attachment proceedings against other individuals and certain telecom firms involved in the case.
Besides the cases of Kanimozhi and Kumar, similar summons under the provisions of the anti-money laundering Act were issued to Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa's cousin Asif Balwa , Director of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Rajeev Agarwal and Karim Murani of Cineyug Films (Pvt) Ltd.
The Enforcement Directorate will soon issue Letters Rogatory to ten countries as part of its probe in the multi-crore 2G spectrum scam.
Official sources said the Directorate, which has already contacted its counterparts in 10 countries, where imprints of the telecom scam are allegedly visible, will now adopt a formal route.
They said the ED will soon seek for LRs to be issued in connection with the case, asking for details about financial transactions and background of certain entities doing business in those countries.
A Letter Rogatory is a formal request issued by a competent court to a foreign court and processed by the Ministry of External Affairs on behalf of the investigative agencies to obtain information about individuals and entities.
Sources said the ten countries in question include tax havens like Isle of Man, Cyprus and Mauritius besides UAE, Norway, Singapore, Libya, and Russia.
They said ED feels that some entities operating in those countries were connected with the spectrum allocation besides certain others who later bought stakes in Indian companies that had bagged the allocation.
Most of the companies that had bagged the spectrum had their subsidiaries and business partners situated in foreign countries.
Untangling the financial transactions web spread across various countries is what the ED is focusing on. The ED has already finished the first round of its probe with all the main telecom companies allegedly involved in the scam.
The companies have submitted details about their financial transactions, foreign holding, the financial backers and information about their subsidiaries. The Directorate, which has studied the details closely, will now have a second round of questioning with the telecom firms.
The Central Bureau is already investigating the case and had recently conducted raids at the premises of certain former telecom Ministry officials and former Telecom Minister A Raja.
The ED has registered a case in this connection under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
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