Dayanidhi Maran denies misusing Telecoms office

Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Thursday denied allegations that he had misused his office during his tenure as a former Union Telecoms Minister to arrange about 300 telephone lines for his family-owned television network.

The charge had come even as another controversy gripped the 2004-2007 Telecoms Minister that accused him of allowing mobile operator licenses to a firm only when it invested in Sun TV, which is owned by his brother, Kalanidhi Maran.

Denying both the charges, Maran said, ?This is a systematic campaign planned to malign my party and me. I was in the political wilderness when these allegations were made…if I have done any wrong, I am open to a probe on the allegations.?

In a statement, he declared that he was suing the Tamil newspaper that had repeatedly reported that Maran cost the hundreds of crores by misusing his ministry.

Clarifying his stand, Maran brandished a statement from the state-owned phone company BSNL that asserted that only one telephone connection had been provided to the Minister at his Chennai residence.

The operator added that Maran had not even used up the entire quota of free calls that he was entitled to as a minister.

Earlier in the day, Maran?s party Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) slammed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for demanding his resignation over the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

“Jayalalithaa won’t quit as Chief Minister to face a court case (disproportionate assets case in a Bangalore court), but should Maran do the same? People will understand this,” the DMK said in a statement.

Jayalalithaa on Wednesday demanded the resignation Maran from the central Cabinet for his alleged role in the 2G scam when he held the telecoms portfolio.

“The PM should ask for Mr Dayanidhi Maran’s resignation from the Cabinet. I am sure the PM will do it if he has not already done it,” said Jayalalithaa.

“So Mr Maran should resign from the cabinet and face legal proceedings,” she said.

Opposition parties on Tuesday took on DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran over corruption allegations levelled against him by a magazine report earlier this week, as the fallout from the massive 2G telecoms scandal seemed broaden.

The cover story of the June 4 issue of Tehelka magazine published online claimed that during his tenure as the federal telecoms minister in 2006, Maran had allowed carrier licenses to an operator only after it struck a deal with him to invest in his family-owned television network.

?While businessman Mr Sivasankaran owned (mobile operator) Aircel, Maran refused to give him telecoms licences. However, soon after Sivasankaran sold Aircel to Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan of the Maxis group, Maran released 14 licences in lucrative circles,? the magazine said.

?A few months after this, in a clear case of conflict of interest, Krishnan invested Rs 700 crore in Sun TV and Sun Radio, wholly owned by Dayanidhi?s brother, Kalanidhi Maran and his wife,? Tehelka reported.

Maran is part of the DMK, an ally of the Congress party and the part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, whose members have been accused of masterminding the 2G spectrum scandal.