Did not receive any letter from Tata, says Karunanidhi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi on Sunday denied receiving any letter from industrialist Ratan Tata in 2009 praising the then Union Telecom Minister A. Raja.

Jayalalithaa's claim

Mr. Karunanidhi was responding to All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa's claim that Mr. Tata was “jubilant” after Mr. Raja was given the Communications and Information Technology portfolio and had sent a letter to Mr. Karunanidhi on November 13, 2007, praising the new Minister.

Ms. Jayalalithaa had also demanded that all the “close contacts” of lobbyist Niira Radia, who was said to be interested in the elevation of Mr. Raja, be probed. She alleged that Ms. Radia personally handed over the letter to the Chief Minister.

“No such letter reached me, and nobody handed over such a letter to me in person,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.