Karunanidhi meets Kanimozhi at Tihar Jail

New Delhi: DMK chief M Karunanidhi flew into Delhi this morning for what's likely to be a highly emotional visit. He rested at a five-star hotel before heading this evening to Tihar Jail where his daughter, Kanimozhi, is imprisoned for links to the 2G telecom scam.

There was no confirmation on whether Mr Karunanidhi would attend a dinner tonight hosted by the Prime Minister for all allies in his government. Source say the DMK president was likely to depute senior DML leader TR Baalu to represent him.

Kanimozhi, reported to be her father's favourite child, was arrested on May 20 for conspiracy in accepting a 214-crore kickback. The CBI alleges that her partner in crime was A Raja, another DMK leader in Tihar Jail for the 2G scam. When he was Telecom Minister, Mr Raja allegedly swindled the government of thousands of crores by selling mobile network licences and frequency to companies at throwaway prices. One of those firms - Swan Telecom - allegedly repaid him by sending him a cheque for 214 crores. To avoid detection, that cheque was routed through a series of companies before it was deposited with Kalaignar TV, a Chennai channel co-owned by Kanimozhi.

She was denied bail by the Supreme Court yesterday. Her lawyer pleaded, "'Put CCTV camera in her house if you like. Impose any condition. But why should she be deprived of her son's company?"

Mr Karunandihi had flown to Delhi in May as well after Kanimozhi was arrested. In an emotional family reunion, Kanimozhi's 87-year-old father, M Karunanidhi spent about an hour with his youngest child at Tihar Jail.

"We cried. Dad is very upset. It's very sad that he has to go through this at this age. He's been very worried and has lost a lot of weight," Kanimozhi told NDTV.

His daughter's arrest is weighing heavily on his alliance with the Congress. At public meetings, Mr Karunanidhi has expressed his frustration. "Kanimozhi had travelled from one place to another for campaigning. She worked hard for DMK's victory...she's in prison either because of the Centre's order or indifference or some other reason," said Mr Karunanidhi in his constituency of Tiravur on June 5.