Kanimozhi: Multi-faceted person neck deep in mega scam

New Delhi (IANS) Her name Kanimozhi means sweet words. But beyond her fluent communicative skills in English and Tamil, the 43-year-old daughter of DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi has been a controversial power centre in the inner circles of the Dravidian party and its first family.
Kanimozhi, a first-term Rajya Sabha member, is considered close to her father and Andimuthu Raja, her party colleague and jailed former communications minister - the association landing her in Tihar Jail in the 2G a spectrum case Friday.
In the melodramatic Tamil Nadu culture - where cinema, television and literature interplay with politics - Kanimozhi is a sort of youth icon and cultural czarina, at least for her followers.
For them, she is an imaginative poet, prolific journalist, cultural ambassador, youth leader who helped thousands of unemployed find jobs and a patron of arts who provided platform for several talented artists to bloom.
Her admirers call her the 'literary heir' to Karunanidhi, who began his career as a film script writer.
But critics and investigative agencies allege she was the 'ears and eyes of Karunanidhi' during the 2G spectrum scam, which according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) caused the national exchequer a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in its charge sheet in the 2G spectrum case, has mentioned her closeness to Karunanidhi, which helped Raja retain the communications portfolio in the United Progressive Alliance-II (UPA) government too.
Media reports, quoting the infamous Niira Radia tapes had said Kanimozhi 'tilted the scales in favour of Raja'.
Kanimozhi is a 20-percent stake holder in the Karunanidhi family-owned Kalignar TV, which is accused by the CBI of receiving Rs.200 crore kickbacks in the 2G spectrum scandal.
An NGO linked with Kanimozhi is also accused of receiving huge donations from corporates involved in the spectrum scandal.
The CBI, which has named Kanimozhi as a co-conspirator in the spectrum scandal, has described her as 'the brain behind the Kalignar TV', which has been used to siphon off 2G spectrum kickbacks.
Before being elected to the Rajya Sabha, Kanimozhi worked as the chief of the DMK's wing for art, literature and rationalism, making her popular in Tamil Nadu among artists, literary circles and youth.
Kanimozhi was born on the New Year's day in 1968 to Karunanidhi and his third wife Rajathi Ammal in Chennai.
Union Chemicals Minister M.K. Alagiri and former Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister M.K. Stalin are her half-brothers.
She worked as a journalist for several years - in The Hindu and Kumgmam magazine in Chennai and Singapore-based Tamil Murasu - before plunging full-time into politics.
Kanimozhi is the author of five books of poetry in Tamil, rated as 'promising' by many critics.
She has married twice. Athiban Bose, a Sivakasi-based businessman, was her first husband from 1989-1997. She married Singapore-based Tamil writer G. Aravindan in 1997. They have a nine-year-old son Aditya.
Aravindan accompanied her to the court hearings in the 2G spectrum case in Delhi recently.
Political analyst K. Sreekumar said: 'Kanimozhi belongs to the sauve, English-speaking new generation in the Indian political dynasties. But behind her sweet demeanor, there is involvement in alleged huge corrupt deals.'
But not all agree.
'Never rule out Kanimozhi. She was an off-beat journalist who never had the airs of the daughter of the chief minister. We all used to go out to the road-side coffee shops and chat. As a politician too, she had the a wave-length with all top leaders, ordinary party workers and especially women and youth,' said a former journalist colleague of Kanimozhi.

2G scam probe: Kanimozhi denied bail, arrested

New Delhi: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday denied bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar, named as co-conspirators in the 2G spectrum scam.

The court directed the CBI to take her and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharath Kumar into judicial custody.  The Rajya Sabha MP will be taken to Tihar jail.
The CBI had named Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, and Sharad Kumar as co-conspirators in its April 25 supplementary charge sheet after it traced an illegal money trail of Rs.214 crore in the scam.

She is accused of conspiring and accepting bribes to rig 2007/08 grants of lucrative telecoms licences.

Over-crowding in 2G courtroom; Judges inspect, mull revamp

Persistent complaints about space constraint in the court room trying the high-profile 2G scam case have prompted the judges to consider a much-needed revamp of the arrangements in the room.
Senior judges of the Patiala House District court inspected the courtroom and discussed modalities to use existing space in a more efficient manner so that the high-profile accused, their relatives, lawyers, media persons and curious on-lookers do not face difficulty during judicial proceedings.
The judges, Talwant Singh and Sanjiv Jain, however, did not agree with the plea of Swan Telecom Promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, who is in jail along with various others including former Telecom Minister A Raja, that the scribes be kept out during the hearing.
The moment the inspecting judges came, Balwa sought installation of more air conditioners in the courtroom which already has seven ACs.
Balwa said the "media should be moved out". His counsel also seconded his statements saying there is hardly any space for lawyers to stand as journalists occupy most of the space.
The judges rejected the plea of Balwa that a screen be installed outside the courtroom for the media.
A separate media gallery would be set up, one of the judges said and asked the staff, who accompanied them, to ensure that two gates are there.
Through one gate, only lawyers and accused would be allowed to enter and the other one could be used by the public and journalists, special CBI judge Talwant Singh said.
CBI Judge Singh, who is trying CWG cases against various high-profile accused including Suresh Kalmadi, does not allow journalists to come near the dais.
He, however, directed that microphones be installed for the lawyers and the judge after taking note of the complaint of Sharad Kumar, CEO and MD of Kalaignar TV, who was arrested yesterday along with DMK MP Kanimozhi.
On the lines of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, arrangements would be made for senior advocates to sit while other advocates argue.

Interlocutors arrives on six day visit to J&k

Srinagar, May 15 (PTI) Centre''s interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir today arrived on a six-day visit to the state during which they will attend a two-day "peace conference" and visit places outside Srinagar.
The three-member interlocutor team headed by veteran journalist Dileep Padgaonkar arrived here this afternoon on their eighth visit to the state after they were appointed in October last year.
"The interlocutors will attend a two-day peace conference, beginning tomorrow, being organised here by Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation," Padgaonkar said, adding that they will also be meeting several delegations.
Padgaonkar, academician Radha Kumar and former Central Information Commissioner M M Ansari were appointed as interlocutors by the Centre in October last year towards the end of the summer unrest in the valley, which left over 100 civilians dead.
The team has been given one year to submit a report to the centre on a political solution to Kashmir problem.
The interlocutors have so far recommended release of political prisoners and students held on charges of stone pelting, end to arrests of youth for their participation in last year''s protests and removal of bunkers from some residential areas of the city.
"We will also travel outside Srinagar to places where we have not went yet to meet the people ourselves. We will also meet leaders of political parties," Padgaonkar said.
Asked if they had achieved any breakthrough in fixing meetings with the separatists, Padgaonkar evaded a direct reply by saying, "Why do not you ask them? Find out from them."
Moderate Hurriyat Conference headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq last month suspended its constituent Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (IuM) after the chief patron of the party Moulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari met interlocutors during their last visit to the valley.