For Dayanidhi Maran, it was his battle with friend-turned-foe and NRI businessmen C Sivasankaran that eventually haunted him after nearly seven years. Maran today resigned as the textiles minister from the Cabinet. Sivasankaran, who deposed before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) just a few weeks ago, is believed to have given enough information about Maran’s role in coercing him to sell Aircel to Malaysian company Maxis, impelling Maran to take such a decision.
As communications minister, Maran took on Sivasankaran from 2004, just after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government lost general elections. Arun Shourie, communications minister in the NDA government who had approved granting six licences to Aircel, sent the file to the new man in the hot seat —Maran. But Maran, who also got a request from Aircel for another circle, sat on the files asking various questions which included change in the equity structure of the company. The file was sent back to government officers and went to and fro. It was then Siva realised, according to sources, that his ambition to become a pan-Indian player was going to end.
A report by the Justice Shivraj Patil committee, set up by Communication Minister Kapil Sibal, also opened up the issue once again. The report, submitted earlier this year, said Maran had deliberately delayed allocation of spectrum to Aircel in 2005. “The Telecom Minister (Maran) kept putting up queries and causing delays that could also result in spectrum wastage,” the report said. It also pointed out that Aircel had only two telecom licences until 2004.
It was only after December 2006 when Maxis bought over the company, Aircel was granted licences for 14 circles and became a pan-Indian operator. Aircel got more than half the new licences granted during Maran’s tenure. Aircel, like all other operators that were granted licences at that time, only paid the 2001 prices.
In 2006, Astro, a Maxis group firm, also got the Cabinet nod to invest Rs 675 crore in Sun Direct TV — a firm owned by Kalanidhi Maran, the DMK leader’s elder brother which has come under CBI scrutiny. Was it in return to the favour that Maran had shown to the company?
It is this apparent nexus that Siva has talked about with CBI, which Maran denies vehemently. He has said Maran coerced him to sell the company to his friend Ananda Krishna, the promoter of Maxis as he had closed all his option to become a pan-Indian telecom player without which he could not have survived in the competitive market. Those in the know say that various meetings between the two sides happened in India and in London and Siva promised that he would never enter the telecom business again — a promise he did not keep after Maran had to pull out as the communications minister after his battle with M Karunanidhi, the DMK patriarch.
Yet Sivasankaran’s relationship with the Marans has not always been acrimonious. Insiders say Siva and Dayanidhi’s father, Murasoli Maran, were friends, and that some members of the Maran family even worked for Siva’s companies. After the senior Maran’s death, however, Siva’s relationship with his sons soured dramatically.
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Between 2004 and 2007 when Maran was at the helm, sources say Siva preferred to live outside the country — sometimes in his newly-built house in the US or in Seychelles where he has been looking at leasing an island and built a resort city. Those who know him say he feared for his life as well as a possibility of being put under custody on various alleged cases if he returned to Chennai, his home city.
The relationship also soured because of Siva’s growing relationship with Ratan Tata. Siva helped Tata get attractive discounts on telecom equipment for the latter’s launch of telecom network, Tata Teleservices. That is because he had kept close relationship with key global equipment makers during his tryst with mobile services where he eventually collaborated and sold off his licence to the Ruias.
The relationship was cemented when Siva bought a 10 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices. But it is now clear that the Tatas were also fighting a bitter battle with Maran and were anxious to know if he would get another term as communications minister. The tension in their relationship, say insiders, was because of Tata’s decision to enter the broadcasting distribution space with Tata Sky, which would clash directly with SUN TV’s foray into the direct-to-home business. Neither side is willing to confirm, but it is believed that SUN was keen that Tata undertake the venture with it as a partner but Tata was not willing.
Siva was back in the telecom business once A Raja was in charge of the communications ministry. S Tel won one of the dozen-odd new licences. However, his investment in the company has come under scrutiny of the Enforcement Directorate, which says that Siva had indirectly funded the telecom company and bought into the mobile company only after it secured the licences. But that is another story.