Shares of companies promoted by the Marans fall, but recover later in the day.
The 2G spectrum scam has claimed another minister. Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Thursday resigned from the Union Cabinet, following allegations by businessman C Sivasankaran that he misused his position as telecom minister from 2004 to 2007 and sought favours for granting a telecom licence. Sivasankaran has told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that this forced him to sell his telecom business.
CBI had yesterday submitted a 71-page status report on the scam probe in the Supreme Court which mentioned this allegation by Sivasankaran.
Telecommunications Minister Kapil Sibal, who is looking at the legal aspects of the 2G scam, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday and on Thursday to apprise him about the facts of the case.
| THE RISE AND FALL OF DAYANIDHI MARAN |
| MAY 13, 2004 |
MAY 26, 2004
Joins Cabinet as minister for communications and information technology
Resigns from the Cabinet due to differences with the DMK chief
Re-elected to the Lok Sabha
Re-enters the Cabinet as textiles minister
JULY 7, 2011
Resigns again due to alleged irregularities during his tenure as telecom minister
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Maran attended the Cabinet meeting this morning and later drove to the prime minister’s house and submitted his resignation letter. “He arrived for the meeting in a car with a blue light. He drove off after the meeting, but minutes after that, went to Race Course Road in a car without the blue light,” said an official.
The shares of Sun TV, a company owned by the Maran family and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, fell 8 per cent when Maran’s resignation was announced. They recovered later. On the National Stock Exchange, the shares fell to Rs 305, before recovering to end the day at Rs 323.20, down Rs 10.15, or 3.04 per cent.
Dayanidhi’s brother Kalanithi Maran is the chairman and managing director of Sun TV, one of the largest media and entertainment companies in south India.
Meanwhile, SpiceJet shares lost 6 per cent during the day. In June last year, Kalanithi Maran had bought a 37.75 per cent stake in the airline from promoters Wilber Ross and Bhupendra Kansagara. The stock later recovered and closed at Rs 32.10.
The Sun TV network and a cable distribution network called Sumangali, owned by the Maran brothers, used to be at the centre of the DMK propaganda in Tamil Nadu till a few years ago.
In fact, Dayanidhi and Kalanithi Maran’s father, Murasoli Maran — who was an important ideological force in the DMK, besides being DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s nephew — was on good terms with Sivasankaran. But after Murasoli Maran’s death, his sons fell out with the businessman. Sivasankaran, however, continued ties with the DMK and helped set up Kalaignar TV, which has now assumed the role of the party mouthpiece.
Several in the DMK saw Dayanidhi Maran as the initiator of the 2G spectrum scam. As a result, in contrast to the noise the DMK made when the government decided to prosecute another DMK telecom minister, A Raja, the party was silent on Maran’s resignation. When Raja was dropped from the Cabinet and chargesheeted, party leaders had said it was a plot against the Dalits. They had also said the central government had bowed to corporate pressure.
All this was absent today. Many in DMK feel Maran’s role exposed Raja’s dealings.
All that DMK chief M Karunanidhi said was that his party would back Dayanidhi Maran. “No one from the United Progressive Alliance got in touch with me and I did not speak to Sonia Gandhi or anyone last night. I did not write any letter. It is all your imagination. We are not demanding anything in the Cabinet reshuffle. The media is ruling the world, especially in India, and it can defame anyone. Dayanidhi Maran is no exception,” he said.
However, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa said Maran's resignation was long overdue. “This should have happened long back. The end of DMK, the party which Maran belongs to, will be decided by the people. I will take strict action against all complaints against Sun TV Network CMD Kalanithi Maran, the brother of Dayanidhi Maran, and his aides”, she said.
She has already taken action against top Sun TV officials for allegedly engaging in coercive business practices.
With DMK silent, Jayalalithaa will be free to act against the two brothers. She had promised in her election campaign that she would nationalise the cable distribution network. While Sun TV is popular, the real cash cow is Sumangali, which now enjoys a virtual monopoly in the cable distribution market in Tamil Nadu.
Maran’s resignation has created another vacancy in the Union Cabinet. Corporate Affairs Minister Murli Deora has already offered to resign. Even as there are talks in the party about a possible Cabinet and gubernatorial reshuffle, Maran’s resignation brings a degree of certainty to the event.