Karunanidhi may recall Maran

With big ticket purchases by telecom public sector undertakings in the pipeline and the issue of allocation of spectrum for mobile operators yet to be finalised, reports that Union Communications and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran may be asked to step down by party boss M Karunanidhi have created ripples in Tamil Nadu politics and industry circles.

Both Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanidhi Maran, who runs Sun TV, were absent from a function held in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today to felicitate Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on his completing 50 years as legislator. Their absence was conspicuous as a galaxy of political leaders and Union ministers were present at the function.

Supporters of the Maran family are angry and humiliated that no action, apart from registering first information reports (FIRs) on charges of rioting, has been taken against those who burnt down the Madurai office of Dinakaran, judged the highest circulated Tamil newspaper in the state.

The newspaper had recently launched a series of surveys judging the people's assessment of their political representatives. Accordingly, an earlier survey adjudged Dayanidhi Maran as the most effective minister from Tamil Nadu (51 per cent) followed by P Chidambaram.

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss got a low 21 per cent of the vote in this poll, setting off angry reactions from his party, the Pattali Makkal Katchi.

This was followed by a quiz on whom Karunanidhi should anoint as his heir if he goes to the UK for medical treatment. His son Stalin got more votes than anyone else, including his other son, Azhagiri.

This prompted supporters of Azhagiri in Madurai, his stronghold, including the mayor of Madurai, whose husband is a corporator, to lead a mob to the Dinakaran office.

That Karunanidhi, caught between two sons and his loyalty to the party, did not want to rock the boat is clear from the fact that no FIRs were registered against party workers who were seen in the mob since doing so might split the party.

But meanwhile, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu claims he had told the Maran brothers to suspend publication of the surveys but they had not done so. This is the clearest indication that he considers they put their loyalty to their business above that to the party.

Given that Karunanidhi is under pressure to also appear to do justice to the factions in the party owing loyalty to his two sons, DMK supporters believe one way out might be to recall Dayanidhi Maran from New Delhi to put him through "re-education" in Chennai. The feeling in the DMK is that if the Marans could put brother against brother, one day they may dump Karunanidhi as well.

Karunanidhi has expressed sorrow at the way the newspaper was burnt down and has said that he is "with journalists".

However, all the indications are that if he chooses to adopt a confrontation course with the Marans, it is the DMK that will stand to lose the support of Sun TV, which is an important vehicle for the DMK ideology and has become a successful business for the Maran family.

Either way, the power struggle for Karunanidhi's political mantle has spilled out into the open and Tamil Nadu politics has taken a turn which is irreversible.