New Delhi:
After questioning PR executive Niira Radia at her farmhouse in south Delhi, the CBI is now set to turn its focus on former telecom minister A Raja in connection with the 2G scam.
Raja, after landing in Delhi on Wednesday evening, said he will appear before the CBI on December 24 at 10 am. The investigating agency had summoned Raja on Monday but he had asked for a new date.
With the AIADMK-led Opposition in Tamil Nadu gearing up to capitalise on the 2G spectrum scam in the upcoming assembly polls, the ruling DMK is in damage control mode.
Senior leaders including T R Balu, state law minister Durai Murugan and Union Minister Jegathratchagan will address public meetings across the state on what they call "the truth about spectrum".
DMK leaders say they would explain how Raja's policy in spectrum allotment has drastically brought down mobile phone tariff.
(Read: DMK to defend Raja at rallies, meetings)What started out as an income tax-related case has built up to a Godzilla of a controversy.
In 2008, Raja gave mobile licenses to companies that were new to the telecom sector. Last month, the government's auditor said Raja's policies cost the government close to 1.76 lakh crores. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) faulted Raja for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2g spectrum. The seething assessment forced Raja to resign from the government.
The 2G scam has been used by the Opposition to attack the government and in particular the Prime Minister for shielding corruption. The Opposition wants a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), which would consist of members of different political parties, to conduct a formal inquiry into the scam. However, the government has said this is not required because several inquiries by the CBI and agencies like the Enforcement Directorate are already in progress.
The PM has said that in order to prove that he "has nothing to hide", he is willing to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), an unprecedented move. Headed by the BJP's Murli Manohar Joshi, the PAC will follow up on the report of the government's auditor on the 2G scam. However, the Opposition says that this is not sufficient. The PAC, it argues, has a mandate limited to the auditor's report, and the scale of the 2G scam demands an unrestricted inquiry.