Tweet
The ongoing tussle between the Congress and the BJP on telecom-related issues has taken yet another turn, with Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal ordering a probe into the disinvestment in Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) during the NDA regime.
Panatone Finvest Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, had acquired a controlling stake in VSNL for Rs.1,439 crore in 2002 as part of the disinvestment programme of the then BJP-led NDA government.
“It has come to my notice that the divestment of VSNL in 2002 does not seem to be fair and transparent. Prima facie, the way the issue of demerger of 773.13 acres of surplus land of VSNL was handled in 2002 and thereafter, not only the interest of investors but also the interests of government seems to have been adversely affected,” Mr. Sibal has said in a note to Telecom Secretary R. Chandrashekhar. He asked the Telecom Secretary to examine the issue and submit a report by the month-end.
Mr. Sibal has questioned the inordinate delay in the hiving off/demerger of the government's surplus land by the Tatas without paying a single rupee. The Minister also quoted a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India report of 2006 that said “the delay in finalising the arrangement [regarding land] had the potential of conferring unquantifiable benefit from the sale of surplus land in proportion to its shareholding acquired from secondary market on the date of demerger.”
Mr. Sibal in his note said: “The government in 2002 should have preferably transferred the surplus land from the ownership of VSNL before divesting its share in VSNL. But for reasons which are yet to be explored, it appears that surplus land was not separated before the divestment of VSNL in February 2002.”
However, the then Telecom Minister Arun Shourie has denied these charges and accused Mr. Sibal of providing wrong information. Asserting that he was prepared for any probe, Mr. Shourie said if there was any delay in the demerger of the land and if a probe had to be ordered, it should be against P. Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee, the past and present Finance Ministers in the UPA government in the last seven years who failed to act on the issue. This, despite the Tatas writing to the Centre regarding demerger of the land.
“There are such stringent clauses that the person who wins the bid for VSNL, we have provided, shall not have any right on the land at all…,” the former Minister said while defending the deal.
Meanwhile, Tata Communications said it welcomed any government process that hopefully would expedite the demerger of surplus land. “We categorically deny that Tata Communications or the Tata Group has benefited or seeks to derive benefit from the surplus land.”
Panatone Finvest Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, had acquired a controlling stake in VSNL for Rs.1,439 crore in 2002 as part of the disinvestment programme of the then BJP-led NDA government.
“It has come to my notice that the divestment of VSNL in 2002 does not seem to be fair and transparent. Prima facie, the way the issue of demerger of 773.13 acres of surplus land of VSNL was handled in 2002 and thereafter, not only the interest of investors but also the interests of government seems to have been adversely affected,” Mr. Sibal has said in a note to Telecom Secretary R. Chandrashekhar. He asked the Telecom Secretary to examine the issue and submit a report by the month-end.
Mr. Sibal has questioned the inordinate delay in the hiving off/demerger of the government's surplus land by the Tatas without paying a single rupee. The Minister also quoted a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India report of 2006 that said “the delay in finalising the arrangement [regarding land] had the potential of conferring unquantifiable benefit from the sale of surplus land in proportion to its shareholding acquired from secondary market on the date of demerger.”
Mr. Sibal in his note said: “The government in 2002 should have preferably transferred the surplus land from the ownership of VSNL before divesting its share in VSNL. But for reasons which are yet to be explored, it appears that surplus land was not separated before the divestment of VSNL in February 2002.”
However, the then Telecom Minister Arun Shourie has denied these charges and accused Mr. Sibal of providing wrong information. Asserting that he was prepared for any probe, Mr. Shourie said if there was any delay in the demerger of the land and if a probe had to be ordered, it should be against P. Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee, the past and present Finance Ministers in the UPA government in the last seven years who failed to act on the issue. This, despite the Tatas writing to the Centre regarding demerger of the land.
“There are such stringent clauses that the person who wins the bid for VSNL, we have provided, shall not have any right on the land at all…,” the former Minister said while defending the deal.
Meanwhile, Tata Communications said it welcomed any government process that hopefully would expedite the demerger of surplus land. “We categorically deny that Tata Communications or the Tata Group has benefited or seeks to derive benefit from the surplus land.”