New Delhi:
Former Telecom Minister A Raja has slammed the Joint Parliamentary Committee's report on the 2G spectrum scam, which he allegedly masterminded, calling it "more political than parliamentarian in character".
In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Mr Raja has complained against the non-inclusion of his written submission in the report and has urged her to return it to the panel.
Attacking JPC Chairman and senior Congress leader PC Chacko for adopting a "partisan" attitude, the former minister alleged that not including his written statement in the statement was an act of "cowardice intended solely to prevent the truth from being known."
The report submitted to the Speaker on October 29 gives a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, saying Mr Raja, as the Telecom Minister in 2008, had "misled" Dr Singh and manipulated a first-come-first-serve policy to push ineligible companies to the top of a long line of applicants for mobile network licences and second-generation or 2G airwaves. It also disagrees with the Comptroller and Auditor General's finding that the scam caused a loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.
Mr Raja's repeated requests in the past to appear as a witness in front of the JPC to put forth his defence had been turned down by Mr Chacko.
The Opposition, led by the BJP, had also vociferously opposed the controversial report which was adopted by a majority in September, accusing Mr Chacko of being "partisan".