Agencies/New Delhi
Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran’s continuation in the cabinet looked shaky yesterday as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Supreme Court it was probing his role in a telecoms graft case and his rivals, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, demanded his dismissal.The probe is to investigate if Maran, a member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party and a former telecoms minister, coerced the founder of mobile phone firm Aircel to sell off his stake, CBI lawyer K K Venugopal said. Maran has in the past denied allegations he threatened or forced C Sivasankaran, the founder, to sell off the stake to Malaysian company Maxis, considered close to the minister. “Dayanidhi Maran is under the scanner, probe is going on,” Venugopal told the Supreme Court. “There was an element of coercion.” It is a fresh embarrassment for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government already mired in a series of scandals.“Now it appears Maran is losing all chances. The understanding between the Congress and Maran’s DMK party was that Maran would have to go if the probe agencies or courts take cognizance of the allegations against him. With the CBI report today, that stage has come,” a Congress leader, who declined to be identified, said. Meanwhile, Jayalalitha, who was in New Delhi for a meeting with the Planning Commission, lashed out at Maran and demanded his sacking. “It is high time the prime minister dropped Maran from the cabinet,” she told reporters. The chief minister said the Tamil Nadu government would order a probe into the allegation that Maran had facilitated unauthorised BSNL cables for the use of Sun Direct, the family-owned DTH company in Chennai.The Bharatiya Janata Party also upped the ante and demanded the sacking of Maran. Party spokesperson Niramala Sitharaman said: “Maran has no right to continue in the post for even a day.” The move may further strain relations between the Congress Party, which heads the government, and DMK, whose 18 lawmakers give the ruling coalition a narrow majority in parliament. But with the DMK out of power in Tamil Nadu, few expect it to pull out of the government. The case has already claimed Maran’s party colleague and former telecoms minister A Raja, DMK lawmaker Kanimozhi and several business executives, who are all in jail pending trial and who have denied any wrongdoing. Maran was telecoms minister between 2004 and 2007. He returned to the cabinet in 2009.