Parliamentary panel on 2G may not call Chidambaram, Raja

New Delhi: P Chidambaram and A Raja are unlikely to be asked to appear before a parliamentary committee that's handling a post-mortem of the telecom scam.  

PC Chacko of the Congress, who chairs the committee, has said that if Mr Chidambaram or Mr Raja are summoned, then ministers who served in the NDA, when it was in power, will also have to testify to the Joint Parliamentary Committee or JPC. A final decision on the summons will be taken next week at the JPC's meeting.

The committee combines nearly 30 members of different parties from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Mr Chacko's announcement is likely to provoke strong protests, especially from the BJP and the Left parties which have been targeting Mr Chidambaram for his alleged role in the telecom or 2G scam. 

Mr Raja was arrested and recently released on bail for designing and enacting the telecom scam.  He is alleged to have sold licenses in 2008 for mobile networks to companies who were ineligible and allegedly bribed him to jump to the head of the queue.  They were not charged for valuable and scare airwaves. The Supreme Court earlier this year cancelled 122 of those licenses.

The BJP says that as Finance Minister at the time, Mr Chidambaram was aware of the blatant manipulation of guidelines by Mr Raja, and failed to interfere.  Mr Chidambaram has denied the charges. The CBI which is handling the case has said so far that there is nothing to suggest that he should be investigated.

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The UPA has alleged that when it came to power in 2004, it inherited the  telecom policies of the BJP-led NDA. That is why Congress members are likely to insist that if Mr Chidambaram has to testify to the committee, then NDA ministers for telecom and finance should also be grilled.

The JPC has so far met with many senior bureaucrats who were involved with telecom policy.

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