CBI report nails Maran

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In a serious blow to textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran, who is facing a CBI inquiry into the allocation of spectrum licences during his tenure as communications minister, the investigative agency on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that he had ‘coerced’ Aircel founder C. Sivasankaran to sell his shares in the company to Malaysia-based firm Maxis in a quid pro quo for investing nearly Rs600 crores in his brother’s company Sun TV Direct.

The CBI, in a status report submitted on the probe for the period between 2001 and 2007 into the allocation of spectrum during the tenure of three communications ministers — Pramod Mahajan, Arun Shourie and Maran — said the DMK leader had ‘withheld’ his decision on the applications of Sivasankaran for spectrum licences for his company for a full two years in a bid to force him to sell his stake to Maxis, which is owned by T. Ananda Krishnan.

Sivasankaran had alleged that Maxis had invested Rs599.01 crores in Sun TV Direct as a quid pro quo to help the company acquire Aircel.

“No action was taken on his (Sivasankaran’s) applications till the transfer (of shares) took place in the name of the Malaysian company. This man (Sivasankaran) faced coercive action to sell the shares,” the CBI’s special counsel K.K. Venugopal read out from the agency’s report, filed in a sealed cover before a bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly.

“The licences were withheld till the shares were transferred. The gentleman (Sivasankaran) who was examined transferred the shares to the Malaysian company in 2006,” the CBI counsel said in response to the court’s query on when this had all happened and whether he had sold his entire stake.

Reacting to the CBI’s status report naming Maran, the BJP, CPI and Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa demanded his immediate ouster from the UPA government, saying his position had become untenable. The Congress, however, sought to steer clear of the issue, saying it was a matter between the CBI and the Supreme Court monitoring the probe.

“The resignation of Maran has to happen. Certainly his position has become untenable,” said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman, while the CPI’s D. Raja said: “He has to step down, otherwise the PM will be held responsible for keeping him in the Union council of ministers even after the CBI’s statement.”