An Indian court sent the daughter of a key government ally on Friday to jail pending trial on charges she handled a $47 million bribe in the country's biggest corruption case. But her party's recent election defeat will likely mean it stays in the federal coalition.
Kanimozhi is a lawmaker and daughter of the head of the regional Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, which gives the Congress party-led alliance a wafer-thin parliamentary majority. But the party's reputation has been shredded by allegations of corruption.
Hers is the second jailing of a senior party leader on charges of rigging the allocation of telecom licences in 2007/08 which auditors say cost the exchequer up to $39 billion, and was seen calling into question the DMK's support for the government. Party chief M. Karunanidhi said the DMK's ties with Congress were still intact. He said he would convene a high-level meeting and consult legal experts on how to secure Kanimozhi's bail. A spokesperson from the Congress party told reporters after the verdict that "the coalition remains as before".
"There is enormous pressure on the DMK to do something now, especially as there is a family member in jail," said Mahesh Rangarajan, Delhi University professor. "This is the lowest point in history for the party. They are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea." A withdrawal of the DMK's 18 lawmakers from the national coalition would force Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek out new partners to restore a majority in parliament , further delaying legislative progress on important economic reforms.
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