DMK begins spectrum outreach meetings in Tamil Nadu
By IANSFriday, December 24, 2010
CHENNAI - The ruling DMK Friday began a series of public meetings across Tamil Nadu, explaining the issues involved in the 2G spectrum allocation that cost its party leader Andimuthu Raja the union cabinet berth last month.
“The first meeting is being held in Karur district. The public meetings will be in districts and later it will be held in Chennai,” T.K.S. Elangovan, party Lok Sabha member, told IANS.
The DMK’s public outreach programme began on the day Raja was grilled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in New Delhi on the procedures followed in the 2G spectrum allocation.
According to Elangovan, the media campaign has to be met effectively as it is being blown out of proportion.
Queried about Raja being questioned by the CBI, Elangovan said: “Everything is going smoothly. There is no issue. It is only the media that is speculating various scenarios like whether he would be arrested or not.”
He also charged the media with misreporting the issue.
He said the Comptroller and Auditor General in its report has only stated a presumptive loss of Rs.1.76 trillion to the government in the 2G spectrum allocation.
The DMK’s senior leader and state Law Minister S. Duraimurugan will address the first ’spectrum outreach’ at Karur district, around 330 km from here.
DMK party seniors, leaders and members of parliament will address the meetings.
At Raja’s hometown Perambalur, the public rally will be addressed by Vasanthi Stanley, a Rajya Sabha member.
Meanwhile, the major opposition party AIADMK too has started holding public meetings to explain what the spectrum scam is all about and how the nation lost Rs.1.76 trillion.
Speaking to IANS, AIADMK MP V. Maitreyan said: “For the past two weeks we have been holding street corner meetings across the state, explaining the spectrum scam to the people. I myself have addressed several such meetings.”
A PMK leader, pleading anonymity, told IANS: “The media has done its part in bringing out the 2G spectrum scam to light and the involvement of the DMK ministers in the central government.”
It is now for the state parties to take the issue forward by reaching out to the people to explain in detail what the spectrum scam is all about, he said.
