With CBI turning the heat on the Maran brothers over the Aircel-Maxis deal, DMK chief M Karunanidhi Tuesday backed them saying his support would always be with his grandnephews, while Chief Minister Jayalalithaa dismissed the raids as an 'eyewash' to hoodwink the people.
Breaking his silence, Karunanidhi said he treated 'equally' both his daughter Kanimozhi, jailed over the 2G scam, and former union minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother media baron Kalanidhi.
"Reports that I do not support Maran brothers is part of a conspiracy by some vested interests to destroy DMK totally," he said in a statement in the wake of reports suggesting his party was unconcerned about the Maran brothers.
He said he had 'same interest' in the Marans as in Kanimozhi that they come out clean. "I never hesitated to face any issue legally... I have complete faith in the doctrine that justice will ultimately triumph," he said.
In her reaction, Jayalalithaa was dismissive of the CBI raids yesterday saying it appeared to be an 'eyewash' and an exercise in "cheating" the people.
"The CBI raids against Maran brothers, their offices and associates appear to be a mere eyewash to hoodwink public. We do hope something would come off these raids but it seems to be an exercise in cheating public,"Jayalalithaa said.
She said the raids happened more than four years since the issue came to light "...It is very difficult to imagine that in this interval of four years the Maran brothers would still be keeping incriminating documents in their residences or office premises,' Jayalalithaa said.
"So we will have to wait and watch if anything comes out of it," she said.
Karunanidhi said he was keeping mum on the cases against Kanimozhi and raids on Maran brothers only because the Centre was saying it would not interfere in judiciary and CBI's work.
He said he did not want to politicise the issue, but some media and vested interests "have magnified" it suggesting that he had ignored the raids on the Marans, which (the reports) 'have mentally hurt me'.
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