New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday demanded the resignations of Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran for his alleged role in favouring Malaysian company Maxis Communication and Home Minister P Chidambaram, accusing him of securing a fraudulent victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a press conference after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence at 7 Race Course Road in New Delhi, Jayalalithaa said that she had full faith in the judicial system and hoped that the culprits would be punished in the 2G spectrum scam case.
"Maran should step down. If he is willing to do so then the Prime Minister should drop him from his Council of Ministers," said Jayalalithaa.
Maran allegedly arm twisted Aircel promoter C Sivasankaran to sell his stake to Maxis and in return the Malaysian company reportedly invested close to Rs 600 crore in Maran family owned Sun TV.
Jayalalithaa pointed out that the 2G scam was being probed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the arrest of DMK leaders in connection with the scam had got nothing to do with Tamil Nadu politics.
"The DMK is paying the price for what they have done. None of these cases on them have been initiated by me or my party. This has been done by the Centre. So there is no question of being vindictive," she replied when asked about the 2G scam and the involvement of DMK leaders in it.
Coming down heavily on Chidambaram she accused him of playing "a fraud on the nation" and alleged that there were irregularities during the counting at Sivaganga constituency from where Chidambaram was elected. A petition challenging Chidambaram's election is pending before the Madras High Court.
"Chidambaram lost the election in 2009 and AIADMK candidate won. The case is in the court. There is no softening in our stand," she said.
In her first meeting with the Prime Minister after her victory in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, she said she does not want a confrontation with the Centre and said that it was too premature to think about joining the United Progressive Alliance. She also refused to comment on DMK's ties with the UPA and said that she wanted friendly ties with the UPA in the interest of her state.
"No one from UPA has approached me for an alliance. The Congress has made it clear that it continues to have an alliance with the DMK. So both are still partners in the UPA Government. So the question of my offer doesn't arise. If anyone wants my support, they will have to ask for it. You cannot ask on their behalf. In such a situation it not appropriate for me to call (Congress President) Sonia Gandhi," she replied when asked to comment on reports of the AIADMk trying to come close to the UPA.
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