Manmohan Singh needs to come clean on the spectrum scam

The media and public mood is foul. Since the beginning, the winter session of Parliament has not transacted any business.

Seldom has the public sense of outrage been so palpable since the Bofors scam.

The 2G spectrum scam has shaken the conscience of the nation. The credibility of the UPA has been suffering steadily over a series of wrong-doings.

First came the IPL scam and the involvement of one of its ministers, who had to be dropped in response to public expectations. Then came three scams in quick succession.

The Commonwealth Games (CWG) involved the huge misuse of public funds —  a whopping Rs70,000 crore for mostly doing up old stadia and beautifying Lutyens, Delhi. Again, the same underlying theme was on display.

Public resources for a Shining India even as the disempowered continued to suffer.

The scam was exposed bit by bit — for a change — by the mainstream media. Of course, the investigation goes on. But there are some irrefutable facts. There has been a diversion of funds meant for the scheduled castes and other vulnerable sections to CWG-related projects. While the beautification of elite neighbourhoods has consumed crores, an estimated 30,000 jhuggi dwellers were pushed out of the capital.

After Delhi, it was Mumbai’s turn. We saw the betrayal of Kargil’s martyrs. Throwing all norms of acceptable behaviour to the winds, a 31-storeyed building — Adarsh Housing — came up in Colaba with the full complicity of the chief minister and other politicians, self-seeking bureaucrats, and the military top brass.

Deluxe residential flats were awarded for a fraction of their market value. And, at the onset of the CBI investigation, very important note-sheets from the files of the Maharashtra urban development department went conveniently missing!

And then came the mother of all scams: 2G spectrum. This scam is not in the realm of accusations and allegations. It has been substantiated by Constitutional and statutory authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

The principal author of the scam — erstwhile telecom minister A Raja — had to be dropped from the cabinet in the face of insistent opposition.

The scam played out during 2007-08. A scarce national resource (spectrum) had to be allocated to telecom operators for providing 2G services.

It was expected that this resource, which had become even scarcer due to the explosive growth in the subscriber base, would be distributed through a transparent process that would also maximise revenues for the exchequer.

But Raja had plans, avowedly for “breaking the cartel” of existing operators, and ensuring cheap connectivity as part of “social service”. His way was the ‘first-come-first-served’ (FCFS) rule, which
offered spectrum at 2001 prices in 2007-08.

That Raja ignored all suggestions to the contrary is well documented. That Raja’s actions were mala fide is established by the surreptitious advancement of the cut-off date for handing out the 122 licences.

The CAG report has pointed out definite connivance between insiders in the telecom ministry and the eventual licensees. What was actually followed was not FCFS but a distorted, manipulated version.

Within a short while, the new licensee companies, which were mostly real estate players, sold the spectrum at astronomical premia.

The scam thus became real from the realm of ‘notion’. Spectrum was also handed out at 2001 price to those who wanted to cross over from CDMA to GSM technology.

The beneficiaries were big names like Reliance and the Tatas. Spectrum held in excess of their licence entitlements were legitimised at 2001 prices. The sum total of all these price differentials has been worked out to Rs1,76,000 crore by the CAG. 

The gigantic nature of the fraud can be understood by just asking  a simple question: Will the UPA government allow the aam aadmi to obtain food at 2001 prices? The answer is probably no. Why then, in the name of ‘social service’, has the government offered the same gift for 2G services? The only answer can be bias.

The questions do not disappear with the exit of Raja from the cabinet. Prime minister Manmohan Singh had written a letter to Raja which clearly establishes that he was aware of the implicit wrongdoings of his ministerial colleague.

One cannot fault Raja for concealing anything from the PM. It is obvious that he did not accept the PM’s suggestions. The PM went silent on the subject thereafter. 

The million dollar question that haunts the nation today is what did the PM do? He must break his silence. We need to know his views on the issues which led to the biggest loot of the exchequer ever.

Given the limitations of other Parliamentary fora, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is the only credible alternative. 

Running away from a JPC can only further erode the credibility of the government which is sliding to its nadir.

The very system of Parliamentary democracy is in peril.