DMK may expel Raja ahead of TN elections
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) supremo M. Karunanidhi unnerved by the events of the last few weeks is now toying with the idea of removing A. Raja from the party, only to retrieve lost ground, ahead of the crucial Assembly polls slated for April\May, 2011.
Everything was going well for the DMK until the Adarsh scam. The day the Congress secured the resignation of the Maharashtra former chief minister Ashok Chavan and the Common Wealth Games (CWG) chief Suresh Kalmadi to neutralise the Opposition’s attack in the Winter Session of Parliament, unwittingly it put its alliance partner, the DMK in dire straits. The leakage of the Nira Radia tapes compounded problems not only for the beleaguered former telecom minister Mr A. Raja but also for the DMK’s first family.
The power tussle that has been going on within Mr Karunanidhi’s family has always been a thorn in the flesh for the veteran DMK leader.
Mr Raja who belongs to the Rajathiammal camp, in the aftermath of his resignation, was told not to appear in public events in the company of the chief minister. The last event in which he was allowed to stand beside the chief minister was during the marriage of M.K. Alagiri’s son.
According to highly placed sources in the DMK, when the CBI raid was on at Mr Raja’s different residences, Mr Karunanidhi had a meeting with his sons — M.K. Alagiri and M.K. Stalin. Mr Alagiri very strongly argued in favour of throwing Raja out of the party and the DMK chief did not utter a word disapproving Alagiri’s views.
But the problem for the DMK patriarch is that, Mr Raja not only has the backing of Rajathiammal but also a dalit. The way his government handled the Uma Shankar episode should be fresh in his mind. Also, if Mr Raja were to turn an approver, that would be disastrous to the DMK. In the light of these considerations, the octogenarian chief minister is in the throes of a dilemma.
Therefore, in an attempt to take the sting out of Ms Jayalalitha’s attack that his family benefited from the 2G spectrum allocation scam, sources said that Mr Karunanidhi may convince Mr Raja to quit the party on his own and stay away from the lime-light until the Assembly elections. That, DMK sources believe would give an impression that the party or the leader didn’t have anything to do with the scam.
But much depends on how things shape up in the next coming days and weeks. Now that the CBI raids are over.
The next logical step would be to question Mr Raja. But post-questioning, if Mr Raja gets arrested, that could prove to be crucial for the DMK.
Then it would have no choice but to disown Mr Raja. Dumping him would also give the DMK and the Congress take moral credit for their fight against corruption.
For the DMK chief, this is a litmus test that is all set to test his political acumen and sagacity just ahead of what could possibly be his last elections.
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