Chidambaram's position in Cabinet is untenable: CPI

The CPI Wednesday said the role of P Chidambaram, who was the Finance Minister when the 2G spectrum allocation scandal occurred, should be examined and sought an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as to how such a multi-crore scam took place.

"Chidambaram's position, morally speaking, is increasingly becoming untenable. His role as the then Finance Minister needs to be examined and questioned," party national secretary D Raja said in New Delhi.

He also demanded an explanation from Singh on the telecom scam saying it was "all the more necessary when the then Minister, A Raja, is repeatedly saying that all decisions, including the pricing policy, were taken on the basis of consultations with the Prime Minister."

The CPI leader's reaction came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court sharply criticising telecom regulator TRAI's report purportedly assessing zero loss in 2G spectrum allocation during A.Raja's tenure.

"We are really surprised over the communication. It was created as an autonomous regulator. It is a serious debatable issue what they have done and stated in recent days," a bench of justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly said while indirectly referring to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India report.

The court made the remarks during the hearing of Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking a CBI probe against Home Minister P Chidambaram for his alleged culpability in 2G scam.