Chennai:
For a man about to be confronted with nearly 2,000 questions about his alleged role as the mastermind of one of India's biggest scams, A Raja appears relaxed in his constituency of the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu. The state voted yesterday for all its 39 parliamentary seats.
"The complete case is nonsense," the 50-year-old said to NDTV.
Starting May 5, he will, in a Delhi court, be asked to respond to 1,800 queries that prosecutors have prepared for him after examining nearly 200 witnesses. (
For A Raja, a list of questions from CBI - 1,800 to be exact)
Mr Raja says that neither his party, the DMK, nor he are jittery. "1800 questions are not a new challenge. These questions are not coming from heaven...they are coming from the same trial court where we deposed," he said, explaining that he is ready with answers that will establish his innocence. "In Tamil Nadu and the Nilgiris, the telecom scam is not an issue," he said, declaring that he is confident of being re-elected for a second term from here. (
India Votes: Candidates |
Schedule)
He added that the 15 months he spent in jail did not impede his commitment to the Nilgiri Hills; after all, he said, his work experience has made him proficient in technology. (
DMK's A Raja campaigns to move past the taint of 2G scam)
"Even though I was in jail, physically confined, but I was former telecom minister. I interacted with people through technology. I sent messages through visitors," he said, seated in the official MP's in Ooty.
It was that stint as Telecom Minister that allegedly parented one of India's largest financial swindles, according to the CBI. Mr Raja was jailed in February 2011 on charges that he dispensed cheap mobile network licenses bundled with airwaves at no cost to firms that jumped to the head of a long line of applicants after they paid him off. He has repeatedly denied the allegations and was granted bail by the Supreme Court.