New Delhi:
It is proving to be a severe winter for A Raja.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his house in Delhi today, along with his homes in Tamil Nadu, in connection with the 2G scam, which Raja allegedly masterminded. There were searches in 14 places and important papers were recovered, the CBI said.
Raja was sacked as Telecom Minister last month after the government's auditor offered voluptuous criticism, stating that he broke rules, ignored the advice of the PM, and deliberately gave away precious 2G spectrum at clearance prices to companies that lied or misrepresented information to land the licences. (
CAG report on 2G allocation |
Highlights)
In Tamil Nadu, apart from Raja's house in his constituency Perambulur, the CBI raided the home of Sadiq Batcha, believed to be a business partner of Raja. Batcha was then taken from his house to the CBI office. (
Read: Is this man A Raja's frontman?)
The agency said the searches were made based on a first information report (FIR) filed on October 21 2009, when Raja was Telecom Minister. Raids were also carried out at the residences of former Telecom officials like RK Chandolia, then personal secretary to Raja, Siddhartha Behuria, then Telecom Secretary, K Sridhar, then a member of the Telecom Commission and AK Shrivastava, then Deputy Director General in the Department of Telecom (DoT).
Chandolia was also taken to the CBI headquarters in Delhi for questioning. Sources say that as the man who coordinated the different aspects of 2G allocation, he may well hold the key to the entire investigation.
DMK STANDS BY ITS MANRaja has been unflappable through this phase - even as the Supreme Court, which is monitoring different 2G cases, asked the CBI why Raja has not yet been interrogated. The court also slammed Raja for ignoring the Prime Minister's advice which suggested that Raja consider a different policy for 2G allocation. Raja rejected that notion in a letter to the PM - the tone of that note was also held up by the court as inappropriate.
(Watch: What is 2G spectrum scam?) | (
Who is A Raja?) | (
2G Scam: Supreme Court questions Raja's decision to ignore PM's reservations)The CBI has been asked repeatedly by the Supreme Court about why it's moving slowly in its investigation against Raja and others who worked with him in the Telecom Ministry.
Raja's party - the DMK - has so far been staunch in its support, with party chief M Karunanidhi offering a defense earlier this week which included a complex reference to a mythological monster and silent films. Mr Karunanidhi has been a prolific screenwriter in the Tamil film industry.
(Read: In Raja's defense, Karunanidhi refers to silent movies) Today, he said that the DMK will continue to support Raja because "he has done nothing wrong and hasn't been found guilty... if he is found guilty, he will be thrown out."
CBI: MONEY INVOLVED IS "MIND-BOGGLING"In court today, the CBI shared details of the raids and also said that it expects to complete its investigation by the end of February. The agency described the amount of money involved in the scam as "mind-boggling".
The court has also asked the CBI to examine how telecom companies who won 2G licenses raised massive loans from public sector banks. 26,000 crores was allegedly loaned to five companies in mid-2009 - after the CBI had begun its investigation into the 2G scam. The Supreme Court observed, "If it is true, it is astonishing and has got wider ramifications involving public sector banks and it is eating into the vital economy of our country."
The Enforcement Directorate, which has been studying how companies involved in the scam violated foreign exchange laws, submitted its report on the money trail to the court in a sealed cover. The money trail in 10 countries is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate.
THE RAIDS AND THE OPPOSITIONThe CBI raids may help the government counter an angry Opposition in Delhi which has discounted the CBI investigation and is insistent on a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to study the 2G scam.
The Opposition says that the Supreme Court's repeated criticism of the slow pace of the CBI's inquiry proves that the agency is coached by the government, which is dependent on the DMK's support. A JPC, however, is unacceptable to the government because elections in several key states including Tamil Nadu are due next year, and the Opposition could use the JPC to target the government for corruption. There are also fears that the BJP would use the JPC's powers to summon the Prime Minister and embarrass the government ahead of the elections.
(Read: Cracks in the UPA over Parliament logjam?)The stand-off over the JPC has ensured that the entire Winter Session of Parliament has passed without any work - daily protests by the Opposition have led to both Houses being adjourned. Several all-party meetings called by the government to find a compromise have failed.
