A second Indian cabinet minister has quit in the wake of the multibillion-dollar telecoms scandal that has engulfed Manmohan Singh’s government.
Dayanidhi Maran stepped down as textiles minister on Thursday, a day after India’s Central Bureau of Investigation published allegations relating to his tenure as telecoms minister between 2004 and 2007. The CBI alleged that Mr Maran stalled approval of mobile network licences for Aircel, forcing the sale of the company in a deal that benefited his brother.
C. Sivasankaran, then Aircel’s owner, said last month that he felt under pressure to sell Aircel to Maxis, a Malaysian company. Maxis’s sister company subsequently made a $157m investment in Sun TV, a company owned by Mr Maran’s brother. After Maxis bought Aircel, the company was granted eight telecoms licences.