In a shot in the arm for the DMK, a special CBI court on Thursday acquitted former Telecom Minster A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi along with all the other accused in the sensational 2G case.
Soon after the verdict was pronounced, a vindicated Kanimozhi told media persons that their innocence had finally been proved.
"I would like to thank everyone who stood by me, including my family, husband and party," a smiling Kanimozhi told cameras outside the Patiala Court. "Finally, our innocence has been proved. I will not deliberately target anyone, but there was a conspiracy and a lot of people had a hand in this."
The Rajya Sabha MP also said the case was about a "notional loss" and that the CBI special court's verdict today has ensured that justice has won.
Speaking to Thanthi TV, she said, "I am very happy. The entire case was about a notional loss. There was no proof at all about the case and because of this we had to face several problems. No matter how many times DMK tried to explain this, no one was ready to listen to us. Today, we have won. This is a happy day for all of us."
"I have spoken to thalaivar (Karunanidhi) and to thalapathi (Stalin) as well. Both of them are extremely happy. As a next step, DMK will definitely explain the verdict to the people. We will tell them exactly what has happened and explain it to them," she added.
In a statement to the media, Kanimozhi said that the last six years have been harrowing for her, but that she always believed that she would see light at the end of the tunnel.
Here's her full statement.
I have always believed that I would see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have been waiting for the last six years for this day. The last six years have been harrowing to say the least. To be falsely accused in a case for a notional loss of Rs 176 thousand crores to appease the Opposition that was stalling Parliament, is atrocious. I want you to realise that I was made an accused just because I was a director in a company and for only about 20 days, where I had not attended even a single board meeting and where I had not signed a single document, speaks of the depth to which the system stooped to ensure that I was dragged in so that the DMK is defeated in the election which was hardly five months away. I was chargesheeted with the sole aim was to tag my name with a mind boggling amount to make sure that kalaignar's rule will not continue for the nextfive year term.
I was journalist and writer by profession and not a career politician. I was accused of having amassed wealth through the scam. Let me tell you today if my aim was to amass wealth through politics then I would have joined politics in my early twenties, but I came int politics only at the age of 40 when the party thought that I was needed to come in to fill a gap. If I was power hungry, I would have easily become a minister, but I refused ministersip. Despite all this, I was falsely dragged into this which has definitely left me scarred. Now with this behind me, I will do all I can to strengthen the party and walk for the people of Tamil Nadu. I owe a depth of gratitude to my family and party workers who were a pillar of support and stood by me during these six excruciating years.