He said that his note to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on January 2008 did not deal with the entry fee for 2G spectrum allocation but only usage charges and even a person with average intelligence would have noticed that.
Home Minister P Chidambaram today attacked Public Account Committee (PAC) chairman Murli Manohar Joshi saying his draft report on his role in 2G spectrum allocation was a "gross distortion" which "deliberately and mischievously" omitted his suggestions on the issue.
In a statement, he said that his note to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on January 2008 did not deal with the entry fee for 2G spectrum allocation but only usage charges and even a "person with average intelligence would have noticed that".
"M M Joshi's draft report was a gross distortion of the note dated 15-01-2008 and mischievously commented I had pleaded with the Prime Minister to treat the matter as closed," he said.
"The draft report did not say what the 'matter' was. The draft report also deliberately and mischievously omitted the suggestion regarding charging the licensees prospectively. I am constrained to observe once again that even a person with average intelligence would have noticed that the note did not deal with entry fee at all; in fact, it did say so," the Minister said in a statement.
Asked at a press conference whether Joshi was a person below average intelligence, he replied with a tinge of sarcasm that he was referring to himself.
"I did not say that. I am talking about persons like me with average intelligence will know. I was referring to myself," the Minister said.
Asked to respond about BJP leader Yashwant Sinha's accusation of his "direct complicity" in the 2G controversy, he said "why should I respond."
Chidambaram was hitting back at Joshi for the critical remarks in the draft report which said that the Committee was shocked and dismayed to note that the finance minister in his note had acknowledged that Spectrum is a scarce resource but made a unique and condescending suggestion that the matter be
treated close.
The committee viewed it as most unfortunate that the finance minister, the guardian of public exchequer and entrusted with principal task of mobilisation of resources, pleaded for treating the matter as closed instead of initiating stringent and swift actions against those responsible for whooping losses to the exchequer.
Chidambaram maintained that his note dealt with spectrum usage charges alone and suggested three measures for raising revenues, including a measure to raise additional revenues from licenses who held spectrum over and above the start-up spectrum by charging, prospectively the price discovered in
the auction.
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