2G scam: PM was in the loop,Vahanvati telling untruths,A Raja tells JPC

Former Telecom Minister A Raja has told the Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Former Telecom Minister A Raja has told the Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in the loop vis-a-vis the policy decisions taken by his ministry. In a 17-page note,dated March 13,in response to a JPC questionnaire,the DMK leader also said that then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was also kept informed about the licencing policy.

Raja said he had exchanged letters with the Prime Minister in 2007 with regard to different issues related to the telecom sector and also held personal discussions with him. It was agreed in these discussions that the Minister of Communication and IT would have discussions with Sh Pranab Mukherjee,the then External Affairs Minister,since he was heading the Group of Ministers on vacation of spectrum, he said in his note.

Raja said talks were held between him and Mukherjee in December 2007 on the subscriber base criteria for the allotment of additional spectrum and the issues of dual technology and new licences.

Raja accused Attorney-General Goolam E Vahanvati of telling a series of untruths about him to the JPC.

Giving details of the events in the run up to the allocation in January 2008,Raja said Vahanvati,the then Solicitor-General,was also present during these discussions as same issues were the subject of litigation before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal. It is evident that the letter of 26.12.2007 sent by the Minister of Communication to the PM is nothing but an encapsulation of the note given by the Solicitor General and the subsequent discussions between the SG,External Affairs Minister and Minister of Communication and IT, he said.

As for the claim made by Vahanvati before the JPC that the controversial press release regarding 2-G licences was changed at the last minute by Raja in 2008 with a different pen,Raja said Vahanvati dealt with the press release and the impact of deleting the last paragraph in various litigations in 2008,2009 in the TDSAT,High Court and the Supreme Court and never once mentioned anywhere that this press release was different to what had been seen by him. On the contrary,he in fact defended the amended press release.

Raja said for the talks with Mukherjee,Vahanvati had prepared a note dealing with the subscriber base criteria for allotment of additional spectrum,issue of dual technology,the manner in which spectrum will be allocated and the issue of new telecom licences. He said that based on Vahanvatis note,on December 26,2007 Mukherjee prepared his own note and forwarded both documents to the PM. The same day,according to Raja,he also sent a letter to the PM based on the discussions with Mukherjee and Vahanvati.