Karunanidhi plays Dalit card to defend A Raja

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Monday brought in a tricky caste angle to the Opposition’s demand for the Union Telecom Minister A Raja’s ouster on the alleged 2-G spectrum scam.
“Being a Dalit, he’s been targeted by established forces,” Karuanidhi said. This, significantly, came after Karunanidhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

It was also the day when the Opposition disrupted proceedings in Parliament and dragged the PM into the issue of alleged irregularities committed by Raja in the 2-G spectrum allocation. They demanded a statement from the PM.
Adding fuel to the frenzy was Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s quick follow-up meeting with the PM. This took place close on the heels of her 30-minute one-on-one with Karunanidhi.
However, Congress sources in the know of things later claimed, it was not the Rajaspectrum issue that figured at the PM-Sonia powwow, but the possibility of Karunanidhi’s MP-daughter, Kanimozhi’s inclusion in the Union Cabinet.
“Kanimozhi could be coming to the Ministry in the Centre,” a high-level Congress source said. Both Congress and DMK sources avoided making any comments on M K Alagiri’s future status, even as they focused on Kanimozhi and Raja.