Telecom Lead India: A Raja, former telecom minister, on Monday re-iterated his earlier statements, saying both the prime minister and finance minister were aware of 2G policies.
Submitting a detailed explanation — in a 112-page defense -– Raja has tried to explain why he is incorrectly accused of masterminding the 2G spectrum allocation.
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He also says that in 2009, when the Prime Minister’s coalition was re-elected (the DMK was a member till just a few weeks ago), Manmohan Singh reinstated Raja as telecom minister. “Surely, if he felt that I had misled him or offended him in any manner, my reappointment would not have happened,” said Raja.
Meanwhile, BJP, the Left and the Samajwadi Party will reject JPC report – prepared by PC Chacko – when it is tabled on April 25. The report absolves the PM and Chidambaram of any responsibility, and suggests Raja tweaked the rules of a first-come-first-serve policy to push companies he favored to the front of a long line of applicants. JPC report says Raja, as telecom minister, mis-led the PM.
Raja says he discussed every issue of spectrum personally with the Prime Minister, and spectrum was allocated only after the concurrence of PM and the Finance Minister.
Raja said the allegation of a nexus between him and private operators has fallen flat after the CBI, ED and Income Tax sleuths could not find any substantial evidence against him or his extended family.
Raja said as directed by the Prime Minister he had held discussions with Mukherjee in December 2007 in which then Solicitor General G E Vahanvati was also present. Raja also stated that the SG had prepared a note for discussion with Mukherjee regarding the subscriber base criteria for allotment of additional spectrum, use of dual technology and issue of new licenses.
“The letter of 26.12.2007 sent by the MoC&IT (Ministry of Communication and Information Technology) to the PM is nothing but an encapsulation of the note given by the SG and the subsequent discussions between the SG, EAM and MoC&IT,” Raja said.
