To humour DMK, Manmohan defends spectrum Raja
NEW DELHI: The compulsion to be on the right side of DMK saw Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh providing a a fig leaf to scam-tainted telecom minister A Raja.
“What he (Mr Raja) did was implement a policy that was already in place,” the
prime minister told Monday’s press conference here, referring to process
followed for auction of spectrum for second-generation (2G) telecom services at
prices prevailing in 2001. “It would have been unfair to new entrants if a new
yardstick was used.”
Just like Mr Raja, the prime minister said that the department has not flouted
policy. “You have to look at it in proper perspective,” he said, adding both
the watchdog, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRA) and the Telecom
Commission, had approved the policy on 2G auctions. “I have also discussed this
issue with Raja... he has told me that what he did was, implemented the
policies which were in place since 2003 (NDA regime),” the prime minister said.
The prime minister was responding to question on whether he would take action
against the telecom minister for selling 2G licences at throwaway prices,
resulting in losses worth billions of dollars. In his interaction with the
media, the prime minister dismissed suggestions for Raja’s removal from the
Cabinet. “Pending investigations it is not proper for me to express any
definitive opinion.”
Citing the success of 3G spectrum auction, which would fetch the government
over Rs 67,700 crore as against about Rs 10,000 crore that the exchequer got
from new 2G licences in 2008, the Opposition has been asking for Mr Raja’s
resignation saying the scam caused a loss of up to Rs 1 lakh crore to the
exchequer.
The prime minister, however, admitted that there is a huge gap in the revenue
generation from 2G licences (given by Mr Raja in 2008) compared to a whopping
Rs 67,700 crore from the auction of 3G spectrum sale that concluded only last
week.
Pointing that the whole issue was being investigated and CVC has asked CBI to
look into this and the process is on, he said and assured: “If I come to know
that there is any involvement at any level in corruption, we will take action.”
Nine new companies including Unitech, Shyam Sistema, Datacom, S Tel and Loop
Telecom were given licences in 2008 and pan-India licence was then offered at
Rs 1,658 crore along with start-up 4.4 MHz spectrum.
Ur's
M.K.
"making impossible possible".
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