Kanimozhi meets Pranab Mukherjee to plead Raja's case

As the opposition stalled Parliament for the second consecutive day today over A Raja's continuance in the Cabinet, Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and is understood to have told him that the telecom minister should not be removed.

Kanimozhi, the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, met Mukherjee in Parliament and is believed to have explained the party's position on the issue.

She is understood to have told him that Raja should not be removed from the Cabinet. The DMK came out strongly in support of Raja and asked why the telecom minister should step down.

"Why should he step down? Whatever he did was according to TRAI norms," party spokesperson T K S Elangovan said.

Sources indicated that with opposition parties like BJP and AIADMK forcing the adjournment of Parliament for second consecutive day today, Karunanidhi may talk to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and broach the topic on Saturday once he returns from Seoul after attending the G20 Summit.

"Whatever the minister did was based on the norms set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Let the CBI inquiry into the issue end first," Elangovan said.

"No way," asserted a senior DMK leader when asked whether Raja will go in the wake of allegations against him.

The sources said it will be a loss of face for the party if Raja stepped down at this stage. "It will be amounting to admitting guilt," the source said.