Unsupported and unheard goes
His scream
Spreads his refuge seeking plea
To frontiers that keep silent
Throwing off some
Words of solace
We rush back
To the ring of safety
Even as our artillery and armaments
Are auctioned by death merchants
Quite unknowingly
This bit from the collection of poems by Rajya Sabha MP and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s daughter, Kanimozhi, might have been written for former telecommunications minister and fellow partyman, Andimuthu Raja.
Raja, whose homes and those of his kin and friend and associate, Sadhick Batcha, were searched by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the income tax department, was today staunchly defended by his party. But observers wonder for how long.
While Raja’s original mentor was Karunanidhi’s now-deceased lieutenant, Murasoli Maran, known for spotting diamonds in the rough, it was Karunanidhi’s daughter – and many say his favourite child – Kanimozhi, who spoke up for Raja in the party, even becoming his mentor. Raja, a powerful orator in Tamil, is articulate, intelligent and a dalit. He has been a custodian of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief’s trust in all matters, including financial.
Because Karunanidhi trusted the judgment of Maran so implicitly, and also because of Kanimozhi’s support, Raja was able to withstand the barely suppressed disapproval of the heir to the DMK crown, M K Stalin. On support to Raja, even Azhagiri, Karunanidhi’s elder son, was ambivalent, with the two brothers making rare common cause.
It was at their counsel that Karunanidhi asked Raja to step down from the ministership. The two brothers argued that it was not advisable to put DMK’s relations with the Congress in jeopardy for the sake of one man.
Today, while all DMK MPs went to Raja’s residence to show their solidarity and party leader T R Baalu met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to protest against Raja’s ‘humiliation’, DMK and Congress watchers are observing carefully for signals from Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters, that the party may be distancing itself from Raja. Discussions on this matter have gone on for a week.. And, last week, Raja was advised to stay away from Chennai and to avoid seeking a meeting with Karunanidhi.
With Assembly elections in the summer of 2011, the party does not want the issue of corruption to overshadow all social security and pro-poor measures that the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has put in place.
The Congress is speaking up for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), not for DMK. It has ruled out a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the issue and says it will hit the streets to attack the Opposition for holding up Parliament. It could make an example of Raja as a minister who quit the UPA even though charges against him were not proved.
But more than the Congress, it is the factions in his own party that Raja is wary of. How long DMK chief Karunanidhi will be able to protect him remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the Congress is confident the CBI raids will not strain its ties with DMK. “Investigating agencies need to do their job in a transparent manner. I don’t think anyone can have objection about it,” party spokesman Manish Tiwari told reporters.
