Justice prevails, I stand vindicated: Dayanidhi Maran

CHENNAI: Former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday said justice has prevailed and he stood vindicated for the second time. The cases were foisted with political motivation and the court has found no merit or substance in the allegations, he said.
A special CBI court in Chennai discharged him, his elder brother Kalanithi Maran and five others from the illegal telephone exchange case. A few months ago, a CBI court in Delhi had discharged the Maran brothers in the Aircel-Maxis case too.

"I have been stating from day one that these allegations are politically motivated and foisted falsely, out of jealousy and business rivalry against my brother and to defame me, my family and party. In both the cases, the court has found that there was neither merit nor substance in the allegations levelled against me and discharged me from these cases," Maran said in a statement. He later met DMK working president M K Stalin at his Chennai residence. The meeting comes after Maran's political estrangement for a brief period.

"I resigned from my post as Union minister when these allegations were levelled against me, so that I could prove my innocence in a court of law and clear my name. Now, I stand vindicated. It is unfortunate that lies were spread and liars were made to look like heroes, and I was made to look like a villain. But, truth triumphed in the end," he added.

Stating that not only him, but his entire family was subjected to unwarranted pain and immeasurable indignation for more than seven years as a result of these false cases, Maran hoped no one else would be made to go through such an ordeal. "This is a watershed moment for me," he said.