In the face of onslaught, DMK stands by its Raja
Published: Friday, Nov 12, 2010, 2:00 IST
By D Ram Raj | Place: Chennai | Agency: DNA
Shrill demands by the opposition parties and their repeated
adjournments in parliament, and the fervent pleas by the ruling
coalition have, so far, have made little headway, so far.
According to sources, Karunanidhi is reluctant to take any action
against Raja as he is projected as the Dalit face of the party in New
Delhi. Moreover, the common belief in Tamil Nadu is that it is
virtually impossible that the massive largess that Raja is alleged to
have earned through the 2G spectrum scam was not shared with others.
But following J Jayalalithaa offer on a private TV channel that her 18
members in the Lok Sabha will support the UPA in lieu of the DMK's 18
MP, Congress sources now believe Raja's days are numbered.
"It is now sure that Raja will go, it is just a question of time and
whether he will resign on his own or the Congress will ask him to
leave," said a Congress source.
The fear in the Congress is that the prime minister's office had
cleared a few files in good faith — a fact Raja has been iterating
time and again. "If these were taken away by the CBI when they raided
Raja's office, there is little to worry," said the source, "But the
worry is that there may copies of those files.
Raja was born on May 10, 1963, in Velur village, Perambalur district,
to Andimuthu and Chinnapillai. He represents the reserved Niligiri
constituency.
A master of law from Government Law College, Trichy, Raja first became
a minister in 1999 when he was made union minister of state for rural
development. He subsequently became union minister of state for health
and family welfare.
Raja took over the telecom portfolio on May 18, 2007, after his
predecessor, Dayanidhi Maran, also from the DMK, fell out with his
granduncle Karunanidhi.
Maran was stripped of the ministry after his newspaper, Dinakaran,
published a survey that said that of Karunanidhi's two sons, MK Stalin
was more popular that MK Alagiri. The latter's supporters allegedly
attacked and burned down the Dinakaran office in Madurai, killing
three staff members.
The Marans later patched up with Karunanidhi and Dayanidhi was given
the textile portfolio, which he holds.
After the UPA returned to power, many believe that Raja would not be
made a minister given the outcry over the 2G spectrum scam. But
Karunanidhi was adamant that Raja be reinstated in the cabinet and
with the same portfolio again.
Known to be close to Karunanidhi's family, Raja is married to MA
Parameswari and has one daughter.
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