New Delhi:
Under fire from the Supreme Court and a united Opposition over the Prime Minister's alleged inaction on a plea seeking prosecution of A Raja, the government has now decided to get the top legal officer of the country to present the PM's case in the apex court.
Attorney General of India GE Vahanvati will represent the PM in Supreme Court on Tuesday. The Attorney General replaces Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium who appeared for the PM till yesterday.
Sources have told NDTV the Prime Minister wanted the Attorney General to represent him for effective representation.
Subramanium said, "It is not a question of replacement but of better coordination. I will continue to represent the central government and the Department of Telecom on the issue while the Attorney General will represent the Prime Minister."
The court had made very strong remarks yesterday on concealing facts and the affidavit will put it on record the Prime Minister's stand on the issue. (Read: Court wants affidavit on PM's behalf)
But the Solicitor General said that there was no stricture against the PM. "No stricture at all, this is a process of adjudication. There is no miscommunication among law officers in defending the PM," said Gopal Subramanium, Solicitor General of India. (Watch)
The Supreme Court had asked for an affidavit to be filed by Saturday on behalf of the Prime Minister which explains why he took close to a year to respond to a request for the prosecution of former Telecom Minister A Raja for allegedly orchestrating the massive 2G scam. (Read: How Raja allegedly robbed India)
"The matter is extremely serious," the court said. Earlier this week, referring to the PM, the court had said, "The alleged inaction and silence is worrying us," said the court earlier this week.
Uproar in Parliament
The BJP and the Left is keeping up the pressure on the government with their 'we want JPC' slogan soon as Parliament resumes each day since the last four days.
The 2G scam is holding both the Houses of Parliament hostage today as well with the Opposition insisting on a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the scam and A Raja's role in it. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been adjourned till Monday.
On Friday morning, Both Houses were adjourned till 12 pm as soon as the House opened.
Talking to NDTV, AIADMK leader Maitreyan said that the Prime Minister must explain his stand. He said, "If the government adjourns sine die, they will be responsible."
The government however, is in no mood to give in. The Congress has rejected reports that the government was planning to cut the winter session short saying the government is not running away.
"The government has said many times before we are ready to discuss all issues," said Congress Spokesperson Manish Tiwari.
On the continued disruptions in Parliament, he said that the onus of running the House is on every political party, every Member of Parliament.
Swamy's letter to the PM
Raja was forced to resign on Sunday after a report by the government's auditor found him guilty of costing the country close to Rs 1.76 lakh crore by undervaluing 2G spectrum in 2008, and circumventing the rules to award the spectrum to companies that he favoured, and who presented incorrect information to win licenses at throwaway prices. (Read: 2G scam - 85 companies got licenses by suppressing facts, says CAG)
In November 2008, former Law Minister Subramanian Swamy wrote to the Prime Minister, asking that Raja be prosecuted for these violations committed in January that year. Swamy finally had his answer in March 2010 when the government said that would not be possible because the CBI is investigating the case.
Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian had said yesterday that the remarks against the PM were not embarrassing.
He told the Supreme Court that all documents relevant to Swamy's request will be produced in court. He also said that "all letters of Swamy were dealt with." (Read: No strictures against PM, says Solicitor General)
However, Swamy said that he wrote five times to the Prime Minister but received only one response from Dr Manmohan Singh's office, and another from Raja explaining why his request was being rejected. (Watch)
Attorney General of India GE Vahanvati will represent the PM in Supreme Court on Tuesday. The Attorney General replaces Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium who appeared for the PM till yesterday.
Sources have told NDTV the Prime Minister wanted the Attorney General to represent him for effective representation.
Subramanium said, "It is not a question of replacement but of better coordination. I will continue to represent the central government and the Department of Telecom on the issue while the Attorney General will represent the Prime Minister."
The court had made very strong remarks yesterday on concealing facts and the affidavit will put it on record the Prime Minister's stand on the issue. (Read: Court wants affidavit on PM's behalf)
But the Solicitor General said that there was no stricture against the PM. "No stricture at all, this is a process of adjudication. There is no miscommunication among law officers in defending the PM," said Gopal Subramanium, Solicitor General of India. (Watch)
The Supreme Court had asked for an affidavit to be filed by Saturday on behalf of the Prime Minister which explains why he took close to a year to respond to a request for the prosecution of former Telecom Minister A Raja for allegedly orchestrating the massive 2G scam. (Read: How Raja allegedly robbed India)
"The matter is extremely serious," the court said. Earlier this week, referring to the PM, the court had said, "The alleged inaction and silence is worrying us," said the court earlier this week.
Uproar in Parliament
The BJP and the Left is keeping up the pressure on the government with their 'we want JPC' slogan soon as Parliament resumes each day since the last four days.
The 2G scam is holding both the Houses of Parliament hostage today as well with the Opposition insisting on a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the scam and A Raja's role in it. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been adjourned till Monday.
On Friday morning, Both Houses were adjourned till 12 pm as soon as the House opened.
Talking to NDTV, AIADMK leader Maitreyan said that the Prime Minister must explain his stand. He said, "If the government adjourns sine die, they will be responsible."
The government however, is in no mood to give in. The Congress has rejected reports that the government was planning to cut the winter session short saying the government is not running away.
"The government has said many times before we are ready to discuss all issues," said Congress Spokesperson Manish Tiwari.
On the continued disruptions in Parliament, he said that the onus of running the House is on every political party, every Member of Parliament.
Swamy's letter to the PM
Raja was forced to resign on Sunday after a report by the government's auditor found him guilty of costing the country close to Rs 1.76 lakh crore by undervaluing 2G spectrum in 2008, and circumventing the rules to award the spectrum to companies that he favoured, and who presented incorrect information to win licenses at throwaway prices. (Read: 2G scam - 85 companies got licenses by suppressing facts, says CAG)
In November 2008, former Law Minister Subramanian Swamy wrote to the Prime Minister, asking that Raja be prosecuted for these violations committed in January that year. Swamy finally had his answer in March 2010 when the government said that would not be possible because the CBI is investigating the case.
Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian had said yesterday that the remarks against the PM were not embarrassing.
He told the Supreme Court that all documents relevant to Swamy's request will be produced in court. He also said that "all letters of Swamy were dealt with." (Read: No strictures against PM, says Solicitor General)
However, Swamy said that he wrote five times to the Prime Minister but received only one response from Dr Manmohan Singh's office, and another from Raja explaining why his request was being rejected. (Watch)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
