Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has lambasted the continuance of telecommunications minister A Raja in office despite his suspected involvement in the 2G spectrum scam.
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has lambasted the continuance of telecommunications minister A Raja in office despite his suspected involvement in the 2G spectrum scam. Excerpts from an exclusive interview with DNA:
What does the government’s affidavit defending A Raja in the spectrum case mean?
The affidavit will be adjudicated by the Supreme Court. But the affidavit is filed by the Department of Telecommunications, headed by A Raja. It cannot but toe the line of Raja. I believe the government is in a Catch-22 situation, between survival instinct and the need for probity and ethics in a public life.
The impropriety that has caused a loss of revenue is ex facie apparent. Spectrum was allotted in 2007-08 at 2001 prices. The 2001 price was determined by the market, but not the 2007-08 price. While the market was small in 2001, it was huge in 2007-08. In 2007, 122 circles were sold to nine different operators at Rs1651 crore each. A shell company without a single subscriber was evaluated after acquiring spectrum at $2 billion, or Rs9,500 crore. For nine licences, the loss per operator is Rs7,500 crore. If 3G could be auctioned through the market, why not 2G?
Do you require two years to take action against this when you took just six hours to file a petition against [then Gujarat minister of state for home] Amit Shah at midnight on a holiday? For one year, the CBI has not done anything in the [2G scam] matter. An infrastructure for cover-up has been created. A tainted CVC has been appointed. The present and the last CBI director are compromised. They are incapable of an honest investigation. What are the options left? Is the opposition to seal its lips?
Do you think the technicality of first-come, first-served as against auction makes any difference?
It was improper. The closure date was October 3, 2007. After the applications were submitted, the cut-off date was changed to September 25, 2007. The established telecom players applied between Sept 25 and Oct 3, the real estate players before Sept 25.
It shows a conspiracy with the real estate players. It was also announced that whoever deposited a (bank) draft for Rs1651 crore first will be allotted spectrum. Those who came to collect the letters were beaten up by goons at the DoT office, and those who had advanced information came with drafts for Rs1651 crore. One has to have blinkers if this is not corruption.
Is the DMK a difficult ally?
I think funds for the party and leadership are crucial criteria of loyalty in the DMK. The UPA government is a prisoner of numbers game and coalition politics. The prime minister’s commitment is not honesty but only to templates.
He will say that there is zero tolerance to corruption and allow the most corrupt to continue. Are there enough loopholes in the earlier Trai policy for Raja to get away on technicalities?
It is for the court to decide. But the fact is that even the first-come-first-served tells you who to give it to but not at what price. It is still to be given at market price. It is a public asset.
Is the UPA government tottering from scam to scam?
It is a directionless government. Ministers are squabbling and their body language is hostile to each other. The government is clueless as to what is to be done on Kashmir.
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