Former telecom minister A Raja has written an emotional letter to Manmohan Singh
NEW DELHI:
Fresh out of his acquittal, former telecom minister A Raja has written to his former boss Manmohan Singh whom he was accused of misleading to pull off the 2G scam.
In an emotional letter, Mr Raja also signaled his disappointment at the former PM for not trusting him enough and reminded him that he had "ensured that you did not suffer personal embarrassment in the trial proceedings" unlike some of their "senior Cabinet colleagues".
"Now that the truth about 2G is out in the open, perhaps you too could come forward in my support, which you could not earlier," Mr Raja said in his December 26 letter, exactly a decade after he had written to the former PM on the allocation of 2G spectrum. That letter was the starting point for the spectrum allocation and later, what was later billed as one of India's biggest corruption scams.
"Neither of us could have imagined the twists and turns in our political and personal lives over the next ten years... It cost you the UPA government and it took seven years of my life including 15 months in jail," he said.
The former Prime Minister had initially cited coalition compulsion to explain why he hadn't dropped Mr Raja from his team. Mr Raja was, however, forced to quit in 2010 just before the national auditor's scathing report was to be tabled in parliament.
The CBI later alleged that Mr Raja had misled Dr Singh in his letters on several key issues related to the policy of grant of 2G spectrum licences, including first-come-first-served and the cut-off date.
But the judge, who acquitted the DMK leader last month, held it was the PMO officials who had kept the former Prime Minister in the dark.
Dr Manmohan Singh, who responded to Mr Raja's letter this week, said he was happy that his former colleague was vindicated. "You and your family have suffered greatly in this process but all your friends are greatly relieved that truth has prevailed," the former PM said.
Mr Raja's letter had also spoken of a wedge the case had driven between them.
Reminding Dr Singh that "You will recall that I had assured you several times that I had done nothing wrong, but acted in national interest," the letter read.
In an emotional letter, Mr Raja also signaled his disappointment at the former PM for not trusting him enough and reminded him that he had "ensured that you did not suffer personal embarrassment in the trial proceedings" unlike some of their "senior Cabinet colleagues".
"Now that the truth about 2G is out in the open, perhaps you too could come forward in my support, which you could not earlier," Mr Raja said in his December 26 letter, exactly a decade after he had written to the former PM on the allocation of 2G spectrum. That letter was the starting point for the spectrum allocation and later, what was later billed as one of India's biggest corruption scams.
"Neither of us could have imagined the twists and turns in our political and personal lives over the next ten years... It cost you the UPA government and it took seven years of my life including 15 months in jail," he said.
The former Prime Minister had initially cited coalition compulsion to explain why he hadn't dropped Mr Raja from his team. Mr Raja was, however, forced to quit in 2010 just before the national auditor's scathing report was to be tabled in parliament.
The CBI later alleged that Mr Raja had misled Dr Singh in his letters on several key issues related to the policy of grant of 2G spectrum licences, including first-come-first-served and the cut-off date.
But the judge, who acquitted the DMK leader last month, held it was the PMO officials who had kept the former Prime Minister in the dark.
Dr Manmohan Singh, who responded to Mr Raja's letter this week, said he was happy that his former colleague was vindicated. "You and your family have suffered greatly in this process but all your friends are greatly relieved that truth has prevailed," the former PM said.
Mr Raja's letter had also spoken of a wedge the case had driven between them.
Reminding Dr Singh that "You will recall that I had assured you several times that I had done nothing wrong, but acted in national interest," the letter read.
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