Maran urges probe into BSNL's GSM deal

NEW DELHI: Lying low ever since his exit from the Union Cabinet, former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Saturday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a probe into BSNL's GSM tender issue, on which his successor A Raja has raked up a controversy.

"It is unfortunate to note that a totally unwarranted controversy has been raked up relating to BSNL's GSM 2G/3G tender and this subsequent strike by the Unions of BSNL," he said in a letter to the Prime Minister.

The letter of Maran, who was forced to quit the Government in May after problems with DMK, comes in the context of an ongoing controversy over the tender issue with Raja claiming that the lowest tender cleared during Maran's time could result in a loss of about Rs 10,000 crores.

"I believe that a sinister campaign is being carried out systematically against me through the media by certain vested interests.

"As a Minister, it was always my practice to stay out of the tendering process of not only BSNL but also MTNL. The tender, in question, was finalised only by the BSNL board", he said in the letter to PM.