By Leo Fernando
CHENNAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday raided the office of an organization headed by a Catholic priest in Chennai in connection with a corruption scandal that has rocked the nation.
CBI officials searched Tamil Maiyam (Tamil Centre), an NGO founded by Father Jegath Gaspar.
Tamil Maiyam was one among the 34 places targeted by the CBI as part of an investigation into a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal over “improper allotment” of 2G (second generation) spectrum bandwidth to mobile telecom companies.
The federal auditing agency, the Comptroller and Auditor General, in its report indicted the communication and information technology minister Andimuthu Raja, 48, for the corruption.
The website of Tamil Maiyam. The organization
has ties to a politician accused of corruption
According to the report, Raja “improperly allotted” 2G spectrum bandwidth in January 2008 to “ineligible companies” without following established procedures resulting in a loss of some US$38 billion to the government.
Father Gaspar, 44, a priest of Kottar diocese, told reporters that his organization was not involved in any wrongdoing. The priest told the Times of India that his office was searched “because of our connections with political parties.”
Father Gaspar, who worked in Radio Veritas’ Tamil service between 1996 and 2002, is closely associated with Kanimozhi, a member of parliament and the daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister of Muthuvel Karunanidhi.
She is one of the trustees of Tamil Maiyam, founded in 2002, and has collaborated with the priest in organizing various cultural and sports meets in the state.
Recently, media published transcripts of tapped phone conversations of a corporate lobbyist with various politicians and journalists. According to the transcripts, Kanimozhi influenced the lobbyist to help Raja get his earlier post of telecommunication minister during the government formation in 2009.
Phone transcripts also revealed the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, journalists and business leaders. The scandal resulted in the resignation of Raja on Nov. 14 this year.
However Raja’s supporters, including Father Gaspar, have defended Raja and claim that he was being targeted because he is a low caste dalit. They also say the amount projected as lost income for the government was only an estimate.
A fortnight ago, Father Gaspar was one of the prominent speakers in a public meeting, which was held in support of Raja. Talking to reporters, Father Gaspar termed Raja “as a revolutionary” who “will fight back.” UCAN