Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
May 14, 2011
2G case: Court defers order on Kanimozhi’s bail plea to May 20
A CBI special court reserved for May 20 the order on bail moved by the 2G spectrum scam accused - DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar
In a sort of anti-climax, a special court today prolonged the suspense on the bail application of DMK MP Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum case by deferring the pronouncement of its order till May 20.
“The order is deferred to May 20,” Special CBI Judge O.P. Saini said after marking the presence of all the accused including 43-year-old Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi.
Seeing a huge presence of journalists, Justice Saini questioned as to why there were so many journalists and then simply passed the order.
CBI lawyer A.K. Singh told reporters outside the court that the only reason which the judge gave for not pronouncing the order was that it was not ready.
The court also adjourned its pronouncement of order till May 20 on the bail plea of Sharad Kumar, MD and CEO of Kalaignar TV.
Ms. Kanimozhi was accompanied by her husband G. Aravindan and DMK parliamentary party leader T.R. Baalu.
Earlier, the court had on May 7 reserved its order on the bail pleas of Ms. Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar after hearing extensive arguments advanced by criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani who, citing the charge sheet, blamed former Telecom Minister A. Raja for the offence attributed to Ms. Kanimozhi.
The special court, designated by the Supreme Court to deal exclusively with the 2G case, has to decide the fate of Ms. Kanimozhi who has been accused of taking Rs. 200 crore bribe for Kalaignar TV from Shahid Usman Balwa’s firm DB Realty.
The CBI has accused her of conspiring with Raja. She has also been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act for taking bribe through Kalaignar TV - a channel run by the DMK - in which the bribe of the 2G scam was rooted.
Speaking to reporters after the court deferred its order on bail pleas of Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said Kanimozhi is not going to escape from CBI’s clutches as more evidence against her is going to come up.
“I do not think she (Ms. Kanimozhi) is going to escape as more evidence is going to come. I do not think this matter is in any way showing that she is going to be let off or that the CBI is going easy on her,” Mr. Swamy said.
Ms. Kanimozhi and Mr. Kumar hold 20 per cent stake each in Kalaignar TV while Mr. Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal, who holds the remaining 60 per cent share in the broadcasting channel, has been made a witness.
Kanimozhi appeared before the court on May 6 in compliance with the summons issued after she was named in the second chargesheet.
Pressing for Ms. Kanimozhi’s bail, Mr. Jethmalani had sought to blame Raja and Mr. Sharad Kumar for the alleged offence saying she neither signed any documents nor handled affairs of the company.
“My misfortune is that I am Karunanidhi’s daughter and an MP. I have 20 per cent shares in Kalaignar TV. Show me one overt act of mine which relates to the offence,” he had said.
He had contended that apart from having 20 per cent shares in Kalaignar TV, she does not have any role in running its day-to-day affairs.
CBI opposed her bail plea saying her “complicity” in the alleged bribe given to Kalaignar TV in the 2G scam was clear.
“The transactions (of Rs. 200 crore) are nothing but the transfer of bribe money to Kalaignar TV. Kumar alone cannot be held responsible when a family is having the controlling shares,” special public prosecutor U.U. Lalit had argued.
Assembly polls: Kerala results show religious polarization
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The remarkable rally staged by the Left in Kerala which brought it to the brink of an unexpected victory appears to have been facilitated by a Hindu consolidation behind outgoing chief minister V S Achuthanandan.
The voting pattern displayed a communal polarization across the state, with Christians and Muslims consolidating behind Congress-led UDF, and the Hindu areas going with the CPM-led LDF in almost a repeat of the 1987 state polls.
The Congress and allies won maximum seats in Muslim-dominated Mallapuram and Christian belts Ernakulam and Kottayam. The CPM and allies won in Kannur, Kozhikode, Kollam, Palakkad, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram, which all have significant Hindu concentration. Ezhavas, the community to which Achuthanandan belongs, were at the vanguard of Hindu consolidation for their man. Their pro-Achuthanandan fervour was evident in the Left's strong showing in Alappuzha where Congress had hoped to do well.
There were a few exceptions, but broadly, the Hindus gravitated towards the Left in reaction to the UDF's aggressive wooing of Christians and Muslims. In fact, Congress had sniffed the risk and decided to field state party chief Ramesh Chennithala to blunt the reaction among Hindus to the projection of Oomen Chandy as UDF's chief ministerial choice.
The voting pattern displayed a communal polarization across the state, with Christians and Muslims consolidating behind Congress-led UDF, and the Hindu areas going with the CPM-led LDF in almost a repeat of the 1987 state polls.
The Congress and allies won maximum seats in Muslim-dominated Mallapuram and Christian belts Ernakulam and Kottayam. The CPM and allies won in Kannur, Kozhikode, Kollam, Palakkad, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram, which all have significant Hindu concentration. Ezhavas, the community to which Achuthanandan belongs, were at the vanguard of Hindu consolidation for their man. Their pro-Achuthanandan fervour was evident in the Left's strong showing in Alappuzha where Congress had hoped to do well.
There were a few exceptions, but broadly, the Hindus gravitated towards the Left in reaction to the UDF's aggressive wooing of Christians and Muslims. In fact, Congress had sniffed the risk and decided to field state party chief Ramesh Chennithala to blunt the reaction among Hindus to the projection of Oomen Chandy as UDF's chief ministerial choice.
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