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DMK on 2G tightrope as CBI net widens

NEW DELHI: CBI raids on Wednesday, touching upon people close to Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, may turn the Congress-DMK partnership into a tense and wary co-existence. On Wednesday, DMK chose not to react to the CBI raid on a close associate of Kanimozhi — a development which took the agency close to the doorstep of Tamil Nadu's ruling clan. Congress also tried to play down the matter with the chairman of the party's media department Janardan Dwivedi brushing aside speculation about strain in ties. "We trust our allies, and this trust is mutual," he said. The responses were influenced by the calculation that sticking together is in each other's interest, and that a rupture in ties will hurt both. The benefits for both are easy to see. Karunanidhi government's survival depends on the support of Congress MLAs in Chennai, while DMK's 18 MPs are crucial for the UPA government at the Centre. Besides, Congress, by steadily polling double digits in state elections, has emerged as a balancing factor in the bipolar polity of Tamil Nadu, dominated by DMK and AIADMK. The obvious benefits are the reason why Karunanidhi, who insisted on A Raja's inclusion in the Union Cabinet in 2009, agreed to his ouster. Fear of losing Congress to arch rival Jayalalithaa, who is too eager to embrace the lead UPA player just ahead of assembly polls, also explains why the party kept any resentment over the raids in Chennai to itself. But there are also indications that the tolerance threshold may be breached if CBI follows through the raids to scrutinise Raja's dealings with Rajathiammal, Karunanidhi's third wife. The agency on Wednesday refused to confirm reports that its team in Chennai had also searched the premises of Rajathiammal's auditor, Ratnam. But in case they turn out to be correct, then DMK may no longer appreciate Congress's compulsion to tackle the perception that it was soft on corruption. That may also prove to be the tipping point where DMK may see the damages from CBI's activism outweighing the benefits of continued partnership. Dynamics in the squabbling Karunanidhi clan will keep alive this possibility. Though CBI has lately been extraordinarily sensitive to the interests of the regime of the day, a number of factors raise the risk of matters spinning out of control. For one, the SC should be keeping a close vigil on the probe, being assiduously monitored by the public interest petitioner. Second, the continued disruption in Parliament and the criticism from diverse quarters of the UPA government for the scams — from Commonwealth Games to Adarsh to 2G — have undermined government's leverage with CBI. With leaked documents flying thick and fast, calibrating the agency's responses may not be as easy as in the cases concerning UP CM Mayawati, SP boss Mulayam Singh Yadav, as well as RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Congress sources on Wednesday stressed the fact about SC keeping a a watch. Dwivedi stressed that the raids were linked to the 2G scam and should not be linked to the alliance. But there is no guarantee that DMK will continue to take a similarly benign view of CBI's moves in case they directly affect members of DMK's first family.

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