Beni Prasad Verma says uproar over 2G issue unnecessary

Terming the outcry over the 2G spectrum issue as "unnecessary", minister of state for steel Beni Prasad Verma today said there were certain shortcomings in the issuance of licences for second-generation mobile telephony spectrum services but it was "not a case of Rs1.76 lakh crore scam".

Verma also described the uproar over price rise as a propaganda of opposition parties.

The minister said that 2G mobile bandwidth case was being blown out of proportion.

"Though there were some shortcomings like issuing licences of mobile bandwidth to non-eligible companies, but is not a case of Rs1.76 lakh crore scam," he claimed.

"Unnecessary outcry is being made on this issue," he told reporters.

Earlier this month, Union telecom minister Kapil Sibal jad trashed the Comptroller and Auditor General's calculation of the loss in spectrum allocation as "erroneous". The Supreme Court later in an observation asked Sibal to behave "responsibly".

Verma said, "Opposition parties are unnecessarily making price rise an issue as there has been no rise in the prices of wheat, pulses and potato".

He said that only prices of onion and tomato have increased but they too have started coming down due to government efforts.

Verma also said that the government has made all efforts to increase the purchasing power of the people by implementing the Sixth Pay Commission and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.