2G row: Sanjay Nirupam accuses MM Joshi of hiding facts

The controversy over Murli Manohar Joshi writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh way back in December 2007 on the issue of 2G spectrum refuses to die down.

Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam, a member of the PAC, has sought to turn the tables on Joshi, who is now Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman, by accusing him of hiding the fact that he had advised PM Singh against auctioning the radiowaves.

"The timing of your letter is also very important. You had written the letter to the Prime Minister in December, 2007 and the 2G spectrum was allocated in January, 2008. It is very obvious that your letter had made a major impact on the decision of the government," Nirupam said in a letter written last week.

Asking Joshi to throw some light on "ÿour change of heart" on the issue of auctioning of spectrum, he said it was "very unfortunate and surprising that a leader like you advocated against auction while your party BJP levelled serious allegations against the government for not auctioning spectrum upto 4.4 MHz".

"The contradiction in the stand taken by you and your party needs to be explained," he said.

Besides, Nirupam asked Joshi what he meant by "genuine players" in the telecom sector. "Who are these genuine players and why this special concern for genuine players," he asked.