Contending that directors of a company cannot be made responsible for its day-to-day transactions, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M. Karunanidhi on Saturday claimed that his daughter Kanimozhi, who has been arrested in connection with the 2G scam, was innocent.
Even as he was conferring with his party seniors here, Mr. Karunanidhi released to the media his epistle meant for publication in Murasoli, DMK organ.
Party sources said the discussions centred around the developments in the 2G case. In the circumstances, the DMK was unlikely to be part of Sunday's celebrations in Delhi to mark the second anniversary of the United Progressive Alliance returning to power.
Mr. Karunanidhi wrote that despite the forceful argument of senior advocate Ram Jethmalani that there was no provision for imputing criminal liability to all shareholders, the CBI Special Court in Delhi refused bail to Ms. Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar.
“Some conspirators have successfully wrought vengeance on me and my family. This is part of a plot hatched by many from Kanyakumari to the Himalayan peaks to destroy the DMK,” Mr. Karunanidhi claimed.
Recalling that when his wife Dayalu Ammal renounced her stakes in Sun TV in October 2005, she had received Rs. 100 crore as income, of which Rs. 22.5 crore was paid as income tax. The rest of the amount was divided among family members. “It was on my insistence that Ms. Kanimozhi utilised her share of Rs. 2 crore to become a shareholder in Kalaignar TV. Though she did not want it, she agreed to it solely because her father insisted on it. Apart from this, she committed no crime,” Mr. Karunanidhi said.
In any company, he claimed, shareholders incurred loss or profit, but could not be held responsible for the day-to-day actions taken by the administration.
Mr. Karunanidhi said that throughout his life he had not been keen on amassing wealth and all that he had earned had come through his writings. He had given away a significant portion of his earnings to charity. Exhorting his party cadre to understand the full dimensions of these developments, Mr. Karunanidhi said, “It is certain that we will win this war finally.”
