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Before JPC, FinMin officials stick to stand against PC
Terming the controversial note of Finance Ministry to PMO on spectrum allocation as a “joint effort”, the Ministry’s top officials on Wednesday told the JPC that they “cannot comment” whether the note had the approval of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Faced with intense grilling by Opposition members, Finance Secretary RS Gujral and Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan remained silent on the meaning of “seen” by the Minister, sources said.
Top Finance Ministry officials were summoned to explain the contents of the controversial Office Memorandum (note) on March 25, last year, which detailed the lapses on the part of P Chidambaram as Finance Minister during the dubious 2G spectrum allocation.
Gopalan informed the committee that as it was a joint effort, he was also responsible for its preparation in his capacity as the senior-most official of the Finance Ministry involved in the process. He also said that the note was prepared through the joint effort of various Ministries to appraise PMO to harmonise the available facts.
Most of the questions were asked by Opposition members in the committee and pertained to “failures and connivance” of Chidambaram in spectrum allocation. Sources said, ruling members, especially from Congress, preferred to keep quiet on the examination of the controversial note of Mukherjee, which shook the Government. A Congress member of the panel claimed that the Finance Ministry officials had come ill-prepared for the deposition.
A senior Opposition member claimed that when Gopalan was asked whether the term “seen” means that the note had the approval of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the Ministry official said he cannot comment on the issue.
Some members alleged that the Finance Ministry failed to find out whether the objections raised by them were being followed up by the Department of Telecom and dubbed the entire exercise as “shadow boxing”.
According to a 2003 Cabinet Decision, the Finance Ministry and the DoT were to decide on spectrum pricing based on consultations.
The March 25 note had suggested that then Finance Minister Chidambaram could have insisted on auctioning the 2G spectrum.
Terming the controversial note of Finance Ministry to PMO on spectrum allocation as a “joint effort”, the Ministry’s top officials on Wednesday told the JPC that they “cannot comment” whether the note had the approval of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Faced with intense grilling by Opposition members, Finance Secretary RS Gujral and Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan remained silent on the meaning of “seen” by the Minister, sources said.
Top Finance Ministry officials were summoned to explain the contents of the controversial Office Memorandum (note) on March 25, last year, which detailed the lapses on the part of P Chidambaram as Finance Minister during the dubious 2G spectrum allocation.
Gopalan informed the committee that as it was a joint effort, he was also responsible for its preparation in his capacity as the senior-most official of the Finance Ministry involved in the process. He also said that the note was prepared through the joint effort of various Ministries to appraise PMO to harmonise the available facts.
Most of the questions were asked by Opposition members in the committee and pertained to “failures and connivance” of Chidambaram in spectrum allocation. Sources said, ruling members, especially from Congress, preferred to keep quiet on the examination of the controversial note of Mukherjee, which shook the Government. A Congress member of the panel claimed that the Finance Ministry officials had come ill-prepared for the deposition.
A senior Opposition member claimed that when Gopalan was asked whether the term “seen” means that the note had the approval of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the Ministry official said he cannot comment on the issue.
Some members alleged that the Finance Ministry failed to find out whether the objections raised by them were being followed up by the Department of Telecom and dubbed the entire exercise as “shadow boxing”.
According to a 2003 Cabinet Decision, the Finance Ministry and the DoT were to decide on spectrum pricing based on consultations.
The March 25 note had suggested that then Finance Minister Chidambaram could have insisted on auctioning the 2G spectrum.
