Just dues

The question of former telecom minister A. Rajas gigantic swindle has been hanging over the UPA since 2008. There is unanimous agreement that his unorthodox methods of allocating spectrum,clearly in favour of friendly companies,cost the country tremendously the debate is only over exactly how many thousands of crores. He has now been arrested,along with his former personal secretary R.K. Chandolia and former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura,by the CBI,for allegedly abusing their official position and manipulating tendering procedures to skew the field for the benefit of some telecom companies. If indeed the 2G spectrum scam is a blatant case of corruption at the highest levels of government,this arrest would seem like the only logical next step,and a satisfying sign of forward movement in the case.

We need to know the extent of Rajas wrongdoing,whether it was a matter of just poor policy choices or whether there was a conspiratorial component,whether the minister and the two civil servants benefited from the spectrum allocation,and if so,to what extent. Resolving that question is within the CBIs remit,and it has questioned Raja in four sessions over two months,and confronted him with several documents seized from his premises. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate have been asked to submit status reports to the Supreme Court by February 10. The cynical view would,of course,be that the arrests have been executed to show the court,which has been expressing impatience with the pace of the investigation,some progress. Yet,the very fact of the arrests could give the investigation a momentum of its own.

Certainly,given the magnitude of Rajas alleged crimes,it is a pity that this turn of events took so long coming. Even now,it appears as though it has been wrenched out of the system,after many months of inaction and denial. Raja clung on to his ministry until last November,dodging charges and loftily telling the world that the prime minister was kept fully informed of all decisions. For an unforgivably long period,the UPA refused to look the country in the eye as far as Rajas extractive policies were concerned, until it became clear that they could not duck the consequences any further. And surprisingly,even now UPA leaders continue to dodge the big debates and level in public on the specifics of the issues raised in the aftermath of Rajas exit from the Union cabinet.