Dealing a setback to Tamil Maiyam,an NGO whose office was recently raided by the CBI in connection with the 2G spectrum scam,the Madras High Court on Friday directed the state government not to have any financial transactions with it in organising an annual cultural extravaganza. Chief Minister M Karunanidhis daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi is a director and ambassador of sorts for the NGO,helping it organise and publicise its marquee event,Chennai Sangamam,in association with the state tourism department. The event enters the fifth edition next week. A public interest petition was filed in the High Court seeking a direction from the court to Tamil Nadu government to distance itself completely from the cultural organisation. Petitioner P Pugazhendi had argued any association of the government with the NGO would prejudice the ongoing investigation into the 2G scam. Admitting the petition,the First Bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam directed the government pleader to file a detailed affidavit explaining how the festival was funded. In the affidavit filed on behalf of the chairman of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation on Friday,the state stated that Chennai Sangamam was a show by the government with Tamil Maiyam having only a limited role of identifying and deploying artistes for the festival. Disposing of the petition,the Bench directed the authorities not to have any financial dealings with Tamil Maiyam,adding that the name of the NGO should not be carried in the advertisements issued by the government even as both entities can continue to have a restricted association. Founded in 2002,Tamil Maiyam and its managing trustee,Rev Jegath Gaspar Raj,had a quick rise in the socio-cultural sphere of Chennai credited largely to its association with Kanimozhi who,around the same time,was carving a space for herself after having remained in the shadows of her more celebrated siblings. With her backing,Tamil Maiyam and the Tourism department initiated Chennai Sangamam,a festival of arts,music,dance and food,with its roots in Tamil culture. This proximity to the power centres,however,brought the NGO under the scanner,culminating in the raids at its office and interrogation of Father Gaspar Raj last month. He maintained that the officials sought some clarification which he provided to their satisfaction,and claimed that the organisation functioned in a transparent manner.
