Cong may revoke telecom deal when in power: Sibal

The turning of the telecom’s licence policy into a revenue sharing one has put the government into trouble with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee being accused of wrongdoing himself.

The Left has said that the country will lose thousands of crores of rupees due to the new policy and has released various sets of documents on the issue. The Congress too has been consistently objecting to several proposals of the policy though it says restructuring is needed in the matter.

“The needle of suspicion points to Race Course Road (the PM’s residence),” Sibal added. The Congress has accused Vajpayee of having a role in the “murky telecom affairs” and has asked him to “come clean” on it. CWC member Pranab Mukherjee has also written to Vajpayee and has sent a copy of his letter to the President explaining his position on the issue as well as the Congress’ stand.

The Congress felt the BJP-led government had also violated the EC’s model code of conduct. Referring to the EC’s statement regretting that the Centre had not furnished all details to it on the telecom issue, the Congress said the matter was entirely in the EC’s domain. “Appropriate steps should be taken in this regard,” Sibal said.

The Congress saying that it would withdraw the policy when it came to power marks a significant upping of ante marking a shift from merely raising objections. It is also a clear stance where the party is speaking of reversing a policy of the current government.

The party has also decided to target Vajpayee personally in the run-up to the elections while it also criticises the BJP and its allies separately. Sibal used some harsh words to describe Vajpayee with regard to the NDA’s troubles with the recently united Janata Dal.

Calling the NDA a “National Disaster Alliance”, Sibal said: “The disability of the PM to govern was the only stark reality of the NDA…There is nothing democratic about this alliance. What George proposes, Vajpayee dare not dispose.

“If George wants J H Patel as a fellow traveller, Vajpayee cannot say no. If George wants Sharad Yadav in the NDA, Vajpayee has no choice. Vajpayee is nowadays running a political hospitality business. Vajpayee has been reduced to a lotus eater. He will end up being a minority in the NDA,” Sibal added.