New Delhi:
After the Supreme Court asked the CBI to extend its inquiry into the 2G scam to 2001 - when the BJP-led NDA was in power - Ratan Tata has expressed his support for that direction. (Read: What about NDA regime, asks Supreme Court)
"Many of the telecom flip flops occurred during BJP regime... the current investigation should be extended to 2001... to know the real beneficiaries of the ad hoc policy-making and implementation" said Mr Tata, who heads the Tata Group. (Read:Ratan Tata's full letter denying Chandrasekhar's charges)
Mr Tata's comments were in response to an "open letter" by former telecom entrepreneur and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The letter said Ratan Tata's company had been shown special favour by former Telecom Minister A Raja. Mr Chandrasekhar believes that the Tata Group was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the out-of-turn allocation of the 2G spectrum that Mr Raja indulged in, violating the first-come-first-served principle that he was meant to follow.
Described as India's biggest scam, and estimated by the government's auditor to be worth Rs. 1.76 lakh crore, the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008 cost A Raja his job as Telecom Minister. He quit last month after a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General found him guilty on multiple counts - of undervaluing spectrum deliberately, of skipping an auction for spectrum to follow a first-come-first-served policy, of sanctioning licenses to companies who were ineligible.
Raja and his supporters have stressed that he followed the first-come-first-served policy introduced by his predecessors in the NDA regime.
Denying that he had been shown any special treatment by either Mr Raja or other ministers, Mr Tata retaliated, "Your (Chandrasekhar) affiliation to a political party is well-known and it appears that their political aspirations and their endeavor to embarrass the Prime Minister... may well have been the motivation behind your letter."
Mr Chandrashekhar is an independent MP elected with BJP support. He described Mr Tata's letter as a "petty, personal attack." (Watch: Chandrasekhar's response to Ratan Tata) | Read Chandrasekhar's reply)
The controversy relates to the date on which the Tatas applied for 2G spectrum in 2008. Mr Chadrashekhar in his letter alleges "The Tatas put in their dual technology applications around 22 October. So, in effect, their application went in three weeks after the 575 2G applications were received. You will accept that this seems to be a case of arriving late, forming a new queue, jumping the priority and accusing others of getting priority on spectrum allocation and meets your point of out-of-turn allocation of spectrum. I am sure the 373 applicants who were rejected for no fault of theirs, will agree."
Mr Tata denies that his company had been "advantaged in any way by Mr Raja or any earlier minister."
His comments on the BJP provoked the party's ire in what is already a politically loaded debate. "With due respect to Ratan Tata I must tell that he is not a judge... those that are benefited out of the UPA policies will always stay by UPA but that does not mean anything to the public," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.
Recently-appointed Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal cautioned, "Some corporate houses are at war with each other. Public discourse on the issue leads to useless self-flagellation." (Watch | Read) Mr Sibal also announced that a retired Supreme Court judge will present within four weeks a report on any procedural lapses in the allocation of spectrum since 2001.
The Supreme Court is also hearing cases on different aspects of the 2G scam. The CBI has promised the Supreme Court that it will wrap up its investigation into the 2G scam by the end of February.
What is 2G spectrum scam?
From the time allegations of misappropriation during the bidding for allocation of 2G spectrum surfaced, till Telecom Minister A Raja's ouster, high drama charged both politics in Delhi and Tamil Nadu. So what exactly is the Spectrum Scam that led to all this?
THE SCAM?
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES AGAINST FORMER TELECOM MINISTER A RAJA?
"Many of the telecom flip flops occurred during BJP regime... the current investigation should be extended to 2001... to know the real beneficiaries of the ad hoc policy-making and implementation" said Mr Tata, who heads the Tata Group. (Read:Ratan Tata's full letter denying Chandrasekhar's charges)
Mr Tata's comments were in response to an "open letter" by former telecom entrepreneur and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The letter said Ratan Tata's company had been shown special favour by former Telecom Minister A Raja. Mr Chandrasekhar believes that the Tata Group was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the out-of-turn allocation of the 2G spectrum that Mr Raja indulged in, violating the first-come-first-served principle that he was meant to follow.
Described as India's biggest scam, and estimated by the government's auditor to be worth Rs. 1.76 lakh crore, the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008 cost A Raja his job as Telecom Minister. He quit last month after a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General found him guilty on multiple counts - of undervaluing spectrum deliberately, of skipping an auction for spectrum to follow a first-come-first-served policy, of sanctioning licenses to companies who were ineligible.
Raja and his supporters have stressed that he followed the first-come-first-served policy introduced by his predecessors in the NDA regime.
Denying that he had been shown any special treatment by either Mr Raja or other ministers, Mr Tata retaliated, "Your (Chandrasekhar) affiliation to a political party is well-known and it appears that their political aspirations and their endeavor to embarrass the Prime Minister... may well have been the motivation behind your letter."
Mr Chandrashekhar is an independent MP elected with BJP support. He described Mr Tata's letter as a "petty, personal attack." (Watch: Chandrasekhar's response to Ratan Tata) | Read Chandrasekhar's reply)
The controversy relates to the date on which the Tatas applied for 2G spectrum in 2008. Mr Chadrashekhar in his letter alleges "The Tatas put in their dual technology applications around 22 October. So, in effect, their application went in three weeks after the 575 2G applications were received. You will accept that this seems to be a case of arriving late, forming a new queue, jumping the priority and accusing others of getting priority on spectrum allocation and meets your point of out-of-turn allocation of spectrum. I am sure the 373 applicants who were rejected for no fault of theirs, will agree."
Mr Tata denies that his company had been "advantaged in any way by Mr Raja or any earlier minister."
His comments on the BJP provoked the party's ire in what is already a politically loaded debate. "With due respect to Ratan Tata I must tell that he is not a judge... those that are benefited out of the UPA policies will always stay by UPA but that does not mean anything to the public," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.
Recently-appointed Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal cautioned, "Some corporate houses are at war with each other. Public discourse on the issue leads to useless self-flagellation." (Watch | Read) Mr Sibal also announced that a retired Supreme Court judge will present within four weeks a report on any procedural lapses in the allocation of spectrum since 2001.
The Supreme Court is also hearing cases on different aspects of the 2G scam. The CBI has promised the Supreme Court that it will wrap up its investigation into the 2G scam by the end of February.
What is 2G spectrum scam?
From the time allegations of misappropriation during the bidding for allocation of 2G spectrum surfaced, till Telecom Minister A Raja's ouster, high drama charged both politics in Delhi and Tamil Nadu. So what exactly is the Spectrum Scam that led to all this?
THE SCAM?
- 2G licenses issued to private telecom players at throwaway prices in 2008
- CAG: Spectrum scam has cost the government Rs. 1.76 lakh crore
- CAG: Rules and procedures flouted while issuing licenses
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES AGAINST FORMER TELECOM MINISTER A RAJA?
- Cheap telecom licenses
- No procedures followed
- Favouritism, corporates encash premium
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