DMK to defend Raja

DMK chief M Karunanidhi defends Raja, targets Jayalalithaa.

DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Wednesday defended his party colleague and former telecom minister A Raja, who is under the scanner over allegations of his involvement in the multi-crore 2G spectrum scam.

In a statement in his party mouthpiece Murasoli on Wednesday, Karunanidhi pointed out that AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa had challenged CAG reports that went against her government in the past.

He said that during AIADMK rule in 2003-04 the CAG had cited a "loss of over Rs 1000 because of short levy of taxes".

He asked the party workers to reach out to people and take on Jayalalithaa head on.

"It's not enough if only you know the truth, I urge you all and the senior party members to reveal all about the scams of the opposition in every meeting they address. The people should also know," Karunanidhi said in his statement.

CAG, in its report on the 2G spectrum issue, had mentioned a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore while it had quantified Rs 1,033 crore loss in its audit report in 2003-04 as a result of short levy of taxes, Karunanidhi claimed.

The statement also claimed that a section of media, referring to various sections from the then CAG report, had said thousands of crores of rupees had been lost in various departments, including frequent changing of ministers.

"What did Jayalalithaa, the then chief minister, do? She not only did not resign, but issued statements slamming CAG. She also said the CAG had not pointed out any glaring losses and that it would be referred to the Public Accounts Committee."

Senior DMK leaders will hold meetings across Tamil Nadu from December 24, following a call by Karunanidhi, to party cadres, to reach out to people through meetings and rallies for highlighting various alleged scams during the Jayalalithaa regime.

Law Minister Duraimurugan, Union Minister S Jegathratchagan, and former Union Minister T R Baalu will address various public meetings on the topic 'The Truth about Spectrum,' N Siva, DMK MP and party's propaganda secretary said.

The meetings will cover among other places, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Cuddalore between December 24 and 30, Siva said in a statement.

He said Opposition parties and the media were "targeting" Raja as if he had "swindled a huge amount," adding that it was nothing but an effort to topple the Karunanidhi-led DMK government which was striving for the welfare of oppressed.

He termed as "lies" the allegations against Raja, who has been summoned by CBI for questioning in connection with its probe into the 2G spectrum scam.

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