A team of CBI officials from Delhi on Friday questioned Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi’s wife, Dayalu Ammal, and daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, in connection with a `214-crore transaction between Kalaignar TV, in which the duo are stakeholders, and Mumbai-based Cineyug Films Pvt. Ltd in 2009.
CBI sleuths from the anti-corruption branch quietly stepped into DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam, which houses Kalaignar TV, at 10.40 am, when hundreds of party cadres, including dozens of ticket aspirants, were assembled. They went straight to the Kalaignar TV office on the third floor and questioned Ms Dayalu Ammal and Ms Kanimozhi for three hours in connection with 2G spectrum allocation and their stake in Kalaignar TV.
Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, whose house and office were raided by the CBI earlier, and Mr Karunanidhi’s nephew, Amirtham, were also present. Since Ms Dayalu Ammal does not know English, Ms Kanimozhi assisted her in answering the queries, sources said.
They were questioned about their stake in the TV channel, which allegedly received `214 crore in 2009 from the Shahid Balwa-promoted company. Mr Balwa has been arrested for benefiting from faulty allocation of spectrum by former minister A. Raja. Ms Kanimozhi was questioned about her phone conversation with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, who was tapped by the income-tax department. Ms Kanimozhi later told reporters, “We are answering everything and whatever is required. We are cooperating with the CBI, unlike many political leaders who don’t,” she said, adding it showed their intention to come clean on the issue.
Stating that Mr Sharad Kumar had already issued a statement on the financial dealings, Ms Kanimozhi said she was asked to substantiate his statement. She said the DMK had never pressured the Central government to slow down the case. When asked whether the Congress was using the CBI to arm-twist the DMK, she retorted, “Do you want me to toe the BJP line?”