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Maran, Baalu refuse to leave jail

Union ministers Murasoli Maran and T R Baalu have been released from custody.

But both ministers have refused to leave.

Baalu, who is incarcerated in Vellore Jail, and Maran, who was admitted to Apollo Hospital, said that since the cases against them had not been dismissed, they did not wish to leave jail until the issue was resolved, and they were either declared innocent or punished if found guilty.

The move is calculated to throw the state government into a tizzy, given the background.

This afternoon, on behalf of the Madras police, a petition was moved before the 18th Metropolitan Magistrate, in Saidapet, Madras, to the effect that continued detention of the two Union ministers was not required as investigations in the case had been completed.

Both ministers have been charged with obstructing public servants -- namely, the police force that arrived at the residence of DMK president and former chief minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi -- in the performance of their duty.

The petition was moved this evening, and the chief metropolitan magistrate immediately signed the release order. The two ministers were then ordered released from police custody.

This was the culmination of hectic backstage activity through the day. Senior state bureaucrats and assorted well-wishers of Jayalalithaa Jayaram, alarmed by the increasingly aggressive stance adopted by the Centre, counselled the TN chief minister to mend fences with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government by rushing through the release of the two Union ministers.

Jayalalithaa, say sources, was not inclined to listen to reason. However, when she was appraised of the very real danger that her fledgling government could be dismissed under the provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution, she relented and ordered the police and bureaucracy to put the process in motion.

She is learnt to have ordered all concerned to ensure that the image of her government is not damaged in the process, and that the release should not be seen as the result of pressure from the Centre.

TN officials have been liasing with the Centre and it is learnt that in return for the immediate release of the two ministers, the Centre has been asked to soften its stance vis a vis the state, and not take the kind of drastic action the Cabinet has been contemplating over the last couple of days.

Interestingly, the scheduled Cabinet meeting to decide on the future course of action, originally scheduled for 1830 hours today, has been postponed to tomorrow.

The official reason given is that the postponement is intended to facilitate Home Minister L K Advani's attendance. Advani, who was on an official visit to Istanbul, is now into the last leg of his return journey.

However, given that Advani's travel schedule was well known when the Cabinet meeting was scheduled, speculation here is that the postponement is part of the compromise formula being hammered out by the Centre and the state.

With Maran and Baalu now turning the screws on the state government by their non-cooperative attitude, it is back to square one for all concerned.

And the onus is back on the state government to either prove its case against the two ministers, or dismiss the cases at risk of being made to look foolish and vindictive.

In other words, Maran and Baalu have literally asked the Jayalalithaa regime to put up, or shut up.

EARLIER REPORTS
Murasoli Maran arrested
No reason was cited for my arrest: Baalu

Karunanidhi's Arrest: The Complete Coverage

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