New Delhi:
The first crack in former Telecom Minister A Raja's armour came with the Comptroller and Auditor-General's (CAG) report on the telecom controversy. Today, the CAG, Vinod Rai, is appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) headed by BJPs Murli Manohar Joshi.
The PAC has been examining the CAG's report of a presumed loss of Rs 1.76-lakh crore in the allocation of the 2G spectrum.
The main findings of the report were:
The demand for a JPC has led to stalemate in Parliament with the government stoutly resisting Opposition's demand.
Today's meeting assumes added significance with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offering to appear before the Committee. But there has been no official word yet about the Prime Minister making a formal request.
A decision to ask Rai to appear before the powerful parliamentary committee was taken during its last meeting earlier this month. The Committee has already invited views and suggestions on the 2G spectrum allocation.
"Taking into consideration the importance of the subject and the nationwide interest evinced in it, the Committee has decided to invite Memoranda containing views/suggestions from various individuals, experts, associations, institutions, organisations interested in the subject matter," the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a notification.
The CAG has quantified revenue loss to the exchequer at up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore, a development that forced A Raja to quit as the Telecom Minister.
The Committee has been examining the subject "Recent Developments in the Telecom Sector including Allocation of 2G and 3G spectrum" since June and has asked for views within next 15 days.
The PAC has already obtained some valuable information from the DoT, Finance Ministry, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and experts in the telecom sector through oral deposition and written submission.
In its last meeting, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura is understood to have told the panel that all decisions related to spectrum allocation were taken by Raja and he only carried out the orders.
He is understood to have claimed that communication between the PMO and Raja were enough to indicate that decision-making powers were confined only to the minister.
(With PTI Inputs)
The PAC has been examining the CAG's report of a presumed loss of Rs 1.76-lakh crore in the allocation of the 2G spectrum.
The main findings of the report were:
- The CAG had found serious irregularities in the manner that 2G spectrum was allocated, leading to losses to the nation
- The 2G spectrum was allocated to new players at throwaway prices in non-transparent and an unfair manner
- Raja ignored the advice of PM, finance & law ministries
- Department of Telecomm (DoT) didn't follow its own practice of first-come-first-served in letter and spirit
The demand for a JPC has led to stalemate in Parliament with the government stoutly resisting Opposition's demand.
Today's meeting assumes added significance with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offering to appear before the Committee. But there has been no official word yet about the Prime Minister making a formal request.
A decision to ask Rai to appear before the powerful parliamentary committee was taken during its last meeting earlier this month. The Committee has already invited views and suggestions on the 2G spectrum allocation.
"Taking into consideration the importance of the subject and the nationwide interest evinced in it, the Committee has decided to invite Memoranda containing views/suggestions from various individuals, experts, associations, institutions, organisations interested in the subject matter," the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a notification.
The CAG has quantified revenue loss to the exchequer at up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore, a development that forced A Raja to quit as the Telecom Minister.
The Committee has been examining the subject "Recent Developments in the Telecom Sector including Allocation of 2G and 3G spectrum" since June and has asked for views within next 15 days.
The PAC has already obtained some valuable information from the DoT, Finance Ministry, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and experts in the telecom sector through oral deposition and written submission.
In its last meeting, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura is understood to have told the panel that all decisions related to spectrum allocation were taken by Raja and he only carried out the orders.
He is understood to have claimed that communication between the PMO and Raja were enough to indicate that decision-making powers were confined only to the minister.
(With PTI Inputs)
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