Karuna bats for Maran, says SC posed just queries

A day after the Supreme Court relief to his grandnephew and former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran in the telephone exchange case, DMK chief Karunanidhi today came out in his support saying the top court had raised just questions and almost put a full stop to the row.
Referring to the observations of the apex court bench headed by Justice T S Thakur's yesterday like "political vendetta should not come in the picture," he said, "the Supreme Court judges have raised many just questions."
By posing such queries, "the Supreme Court has almost put a full stop to the row," he said strongly batting for Maran for the first time in recent times over the telephone exchange case.

"The haste shown by CBI, and the reason behind the political vendetta can be understood well by those who keenly observe the meetings in Tamil Nadu," he said in a statement.
Though the DMK chief did not refer to any particular meeting, he was making a veiled reference to the August 7 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
He also criticised a section of the media for writing that "his party had distanced itself from the issue (involving Maran)," indicating that DMK stood firm behind Maran, who is facing the CBI case.

The apex court was yesterday critical of the CBI in the case in which Maran is accused of causing a loss of Rs 1.20 crore to the exchequer by using the telephone lines for Sun TV network as the telecom minister during 2004-07.

Passing interim orders on Maran's petition, the Supreme Court stayed the Madras High Court order cancelling his anticipatory bail in the case.
A three-judge bench of the apex court questioned CBI's decision to arrest him in a case registered in 2013.
"What were you doing for the last two years? Why you have not arrested BSNL officials... Political vendetta should not come in the picture. Less said, the better," the bench had said.