Maran denies but CBI to seek fresh report on his phone exchange

The Minister is in the eye of a storm for his alleged favours to a Malaysian business conglomerate.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will seek fresh reports from the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) in connection with Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Marans alleged role in the connection of 323 BSNL lines at his Chennai residence. These telephone lines were alleged to have been routed into the offices of Sun TV group companies,owned by Marans brother.

The Minister is in the eye of a storm for his alleged favours to a Malaysian business conglomerate,Maxis,during his tenure as telecom minister before A Raja. Maran has denied all charges and called it a campaign to disgrace him and his party.

According to CBI officials,the agency alerted DoT officials in September 2007 about 323 BSNL telephone lines taken on Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) which provides better and faster transmission. These lines were allotted in the name of Chief General manager of BSNL Chennai,he stated.

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Maran,who remained in office till 2007,is alleged to have caused a loss of more than Rs 250 crore to the exchequer,said CBI.

Agency officials said that despite their repeated warnings,the DoT never took any action. We have sent a report in 2007 and an inquiry was initiated by us. Despite our repeated reminders,the DoT sent a reply as late as December 2009. The replies received from DoT were unsatisfactory, said a top CBI official adding that the letter was sent back to DoT. We will send another reminder to DoT seeking reply at the earliest.

In a statement,counsel for Maran denied the allegations. J Ravindran,Marans lawyer called the allegations baseless and defamatory.

In Chennai,Maran said this was a systematic,planned campaign… to disgrace me and my party. Denying the report that all 323 lines in an exchange was used for the commercial purposes of the Sun Group,he said when the issue first surfaced,he had written to the Chief General Manager of BSNL who replied saying that only one connection was allotted.

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After I resigned in May,there could have been an investigation. That was my position there. I was a political untouchable during that period, said Maran,in an apparent attempt to suggest that the CBI inquiry was a fallout of the family feud more than an indicator of any wrongdoing.

Regarding the allegation that he misused his powers to armtwist Aircel,he said: I have to be judged by the law. But if Im innocent,I should be given every right to protect myself and to prove my integrity.

Interestingly,the statement in support of the embattled Maran came from the DMKs official spokespersons,Pon Muthuramalingam and KS Radhakrishnan,and not from the top brass of the party such as its president and Marans grand uncle,M Karunanidhi or the general secretary and senior leader K Anbazhagan.