Tweet
Govt defends PC on 2G
In a sudden and surprising move, the Government — in a hurriedly called Press conference on Saturday — strongly backed Union Home Minister P Chidambaram saying he had no role in the 2G scam and put the blame squarely on A Raja.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, who came in defence of his beleaguered Cabinet colleague in the wake of fresh demand by NDA seeking his resignation, accused the latter of attempting to foist culpability on Chidambaram in a desperate attempt to make Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.
But dismissing Sibal’s charge, the BJP questioned the sudden need of the Government to defend Chidambaram and reiterated its demand for a probe into his role in the 2G scam. Reacting sharply to Sibal’s defence of the Home Minister, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad even suggested, “After Pranab, it is Sibal’s turn to appease Chidambaram.”
Sibal said, “he (Chidambaram) has no role in fixing the price” in the controversial spectrum allocation. Pointing fingers at National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP, Sibal said, “Any attempt by the Opposition to foist any culpability on P Chidambaram is not only irresponsible but is yet another desperate attempt to make the institution of Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.”
“The debate has taken a perverse turn and the NDA, besides some individuals, is making an attempt to malign and defame P Chidambaram," Sibal added.
Prasad found Sibal's argument strange particularly when a trial court hearing an application filed by Janata Party President Subramaniun Swamy has given permission to produce evidence against the Home Minister concerning his role in the 2G scam. "What the BJP is demanding is determining Chidambaram's role as then Finance Minister in the spectrum scam…It is surprising that after Pranab Mukherjee, now it is the turn of Kapil Sibal to appease a sulking Chidambaram," Prasad said.
Prasad alleged that Chidambaram "did not take appropriate steps to ensure auction of spectrum in an honest and transparent manner." While "over-ruling the objections of senior officers that there should be a transparent mechanism, he (Chidambaram) insisted that spectrum for 2G in 2007 be allocated at 2001 prices, in spite of a phenomenal rise in tele-density in the country," the senior BJP leader added.
Sibal, however, maintained the policy was correct, but irregularities happened during Raja's tenure. He even said no meeting took place between Raja and then Finance Minister Chidambaram before January 10, 2008 when the scam took place. "In fact, the record will show that the Ministry of Finance had no knowledge that the LoIs would be issued on January 10, 2008," he claimed.
The Minister read out a written statement in this regard but refused to take questions on the controversial Office Memorandum of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicting Chidambaram for dereliction of duty in fixing the price of the spectrum. He suggested that the latest court order granting Swamy permission to produce evidence against Chidambaram was not a victory for Swamy but merely a process which any Magistrate would follow in the course of a trial.
In a sudden and surprising move, the Government — in a hurriedly called Press conference on Saturday — strongly backed Union Home Minister P Chidambaram saying he had no role in the 2G scam and put the blame squarely on A Raja.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, who came in defence of his beleaguered Cabinet colleague in the wake of fresh demand by NDA seeking his resignation, accused the latter of attempting to foist culpability on Chidambaram in a desperate attempt to make Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.
But dismissing Sibal’s charge, the BJP questioned the sudden need of the Government to defend Chidambaram and reiterated its demand for a probe into his role in the 2G scam. Reacting sharply to Sibal’s defence of the Home Minister, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad even suggested, “After Pranab, it is Sibal’s turn to appease Chidambaram.”
Sibal said, “he (Chidambaram) has no role in fixing the price” in the controversial spectrum allocation. Pointing fingers at National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP, Sibal said, “Any attempt by the Opposition to foist any culpability on P Chidambaram is not only irresponsible but is yet another desperate attempt to make the institution of Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.”
“The debate has taken a perverse turn and the NDA, besides some individuals, is making an attempt to malign and defame P Chidambaram," Sibal added.
Prasad found Sibal's argument strange particularly when a trial court hearing an application filed by Janata Party President Subramaniun Swamy has given permission to produce evidence against the Home Minister concerning his role in the 2G scam. "What the BJP is demanding is determining Chidambaram's role as then Finance Minister in the spectrum scam…It is surprising that after Pranab Mukherjee, now it is the turn of Kapil Sibal to appease a sulking Chidambaram," Prasad said.
Prasad alleged that Chidambaram "did not take appropriate steps to ensure auction of spectrum in an honest and transparent manner." While "over-ruling the objections of senior officers that there should be a transparent mechanism, he (Chidambaram) insisted that spectrum for 2G in 2007 be allocated at 2001 prices, in spite of a phenomenal rise in tele-density in the country," the senior BJP leader added.
Sibal, however, maintained the policy was correct, but irregularities happened during Raja's tenure. He even said no meeting took place between Raja and then Finance Minister Chidambaram before January 10, 2008 when the scam took place. "In fact, the record will show that the Ministry of Finance had no knowledge that the LoIs would be issued on January 10, 2008," he claimed.
The Minister read out a written statement in this regard but refused to take questions on the controversial Office Memorandum of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicting Chidambaram for dereliction of duty in fixing the price of the spectrum. He suggested that the latest court order granting Swamy permission to produce evidence against Chidambaram was not a victory for Swamy but merely a process which any Magistrate would follow in the course of a trial.
