Janata Party chief urges people not to give up fight against corruption

Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday urged people not to be discouraged by corruption in high places, and continue their fight against illegal practices.

His gave his own example to argue that any fight against corruption yields results. It was the PIL that he had filed in the Delhi high court demanding investigation into the licenses granted by former Union telecom minister A Raja that had led to the unraveling of the 2G scam, he said.

He further said that the prime minister should seek international help to get funds from the telecom companies which had benefited from the 2G scam. He also asked the Union government to cancel the licenses of the beneficiary companies.

Swamy was speaking on the topic, 'Is corruption the No. 1 issue in India?' at Bhaikaka Hall in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. A large number of people, including media-persons had turned up to hear the leader.

Recalling details of the telecom scam, Swamy said that in September 2007, Raja had invited bids for the 2G spectrum. "But it had already been decided which two telecom companies would get the spectrum," Swamy alleged without naming the companies.

"On January 10, 2007, Raja called a press conference and asked bidders to submit a demand draft of Rs1,650 crore in the next 35 minutes to get the 2G licenses," he said. "But what the poor telecom companies didn't know was that the licenses had already been allotted to somebody else."

The Janata Party chief further alleged that out of the crores that had been made through 2G approvals, Raja had taken only 10%.

He insinuated that other leaders of the Congress had also taken a share of the ill-gotten money. He again urged members of the audience to fight corruption at every level.

Swamy gave a detailed account of how his PIL had led to the exposure of the 2G scam. After his petition reached the Supreme Court and the court agreed to consider his plea that Raja should be prosecuted, the court asked the PM to explain the delay in responding to Swamy's letter in the matter.

"This was the first time in the history of Indian politics that the Indian prime minister was questioned by the Supreme Court for delay in taking action," Swamy said.

He further said that Raja had thought that he would escape prosecution because of the support of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. "But I didn't let the matter die down and, instead, filed a PIL first in the Delhi high court," Swamy said.

He asked citizens not to feel discouraged and continue their fight against corruption. "There are still many more corrupt people left to catch and expose. This is not the end," he said. "Nobody should be spared."