New Delhi:
The report released by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) indicting its former chief G Madhavan Nair has sparked off a war of words between him and the government.
After Mr Nair called the government's report "one-sided", that found "serious procedural lapses" in the Antrix-Devas deal, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) today hit back saying that the ex-ISRO boss has "misled the nation".
"Madhavan Nair misled the nation, saying that he was not given an opportunity to explain. But, the Pratyush Sinha committee report clearly mentions that there was a personal hearing of Madhavan Nair and he was heard. Therefore, the principle of natural justice has been followed in his case. The other scientists also were given the questionnaire and they have replied," said V Narayanasamy, Minister of State, PMO.
Mr Narayanasamy's comments came after Mr Nair had trashed the ISRO report yesterday, accusing the space agency of being selective in revealing facts. "Whatever bits and pieces are being released shows that they don't want to reveal the full facts...the portions which are quoted from Pratyush Sinha committee are inaccurate and inconsistent... If a committee works on one-sided basis, that is the Pratyush Sinha committee that I am referring to. Most of the meetings were attended only by Secretary of Devas and chairman of the panel," he said.
The five-member committee, headed by former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha, was set up in May last year and was tasked into studying the controversial contract between ISRO's commercial arm Antrix and a private firm Devas over the sale of the scarce S-band spectrum. The deal was under the scanner over the said spectrum having been sold at inexplicably low prices under Mr Nair's tenure as the ISRO chief.
The committee's report, made public on Saturday night, indicted Mr Nair and others in ISRO, saying the Devas-Antrix deal had "serious procedural lapses" but did not result in any loss to the exchequer. It further said that the deal "seems to be lacking in transparency and due diligence". The committee has further recommended action against Mr Nair and three other scientists - A Bhaskaranarayana, K R Sridhara Murthi and K N Shankara all of whom have since retired. The four have been blacklisted by the government from holding any official position over their alleged role in the Antrix-Devas deal.
(Read: ISRO report indicts ex-chief Nair, finds lapses in Antrix-Devas deal)In 2005, ISRO's commercial arm, Antrix, agreed to build two satellites and provide scarce S-band spectrum for Devas, which planned to offer commercial broadband services. Devas was told to pay Rs. 1000 crore - a sweetheart deal that, according to some estimates, meant the government would incur losses worth two lakh crore rupees. Media reports rocketed the deal into controversy last year, especially embarrassing for the government since ISRO reports directly to the Prime Minister's Office. In May last year, the Prime Minister set up a five-member committee to examine the agreement between Antrix and Devas after media reports exposed the problematic contract.
Mr Nair blames his successor at ISRO, K Radhakrishnan, for misrepresenting the facts. "He (Radhakrishnan) has misled the Government on the whole issue (the controversial Devas deal). He is the key person who worked behind this; he misled and mis-communicated to the Government," alleged Mr Nair.
Meanwhile, Dr Radhakrishnan has said there is nothing personal against Mr Nair.