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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 2G scam: JPC clears Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram; pins Rs 40,000 crore loss on NDA

2G scam: JPC clears Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram; pins Rs 40,000 crore loss on NDA

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published Published on Apr 19, 2013   modified Modified on Apr 19, 2013
-The Times of India


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been given a clean chit by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on telecom which rubbished CAG's Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss calculations in the 2G scam but slammed the Vajpayee government for Rs 40,080 crore loss due to a policy shift in 1999.

The committee - headed by Congress MP P C Chacko - in its draft report pinned the 2G blame on former telecom minister A Raja who it said "misled" the PM on procedure followed by in issuance of telecom licences. The JPC also did not find any wrongdoing on the part of then finance minister P Chidambaram.

"The committee are of the considered view that the very move for calculation of any loss on account of allocation of licences is ill-conceived," the report said about the CAG.

Raja was also accused of "forging" a press release setting out criteria for licences by deleting a paragraph on the basis of evidence tendered by attorney general Goolam Vahanvati and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

In a move to turn the tables on BJP, the draft report said former communications minister Jagmohan's objections on allowing telecom players to migrate to a revenue sharing formula were ignored leading to a loss of Rs 40,080 crore.

The report also said a decision to allocate spectrum when the late Pramod Mahajan was telecom minister caused a loss of revenue.

The stage is now set for a stormy meeting of the committee on April 25 with BJP, Left and DMK members gearing to oppose the draft's conclusions tooth and nail, ensuring there is no political closure to the scam that shook UPA-2.

On Raja, the report said "procedural infirmity has, no doubt, cast (a) cascading shadow on the (2G) decision".

Dismissing CAG's Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss calculations, the report said the auditor failed to consider that revenue maximization was not the objective of the telecom policy and did not take into account the "benefits that accrued to the people at the grass root level".

The move to turn the tables on BJP by alleging that the NDA government overlooked objections raised by Jagmohan over loss of revenue involved in allowing telecom players to migrate to revenue sharing from fixed fees is bound to resonate in Parliament.

The report will be placed in Parliament during the second half of the budget session due to begin on Monday and is bound to see sparks fly as the opposition - now joined by Congress's estranged ally DMK - challenge the committee's conclusions.

Not accepting Raja's explanations for making complying with letter of intent conditions as criteria for issuance of licences, the draft said, "...procedure outlined as above regarding FCFS (first come, first serve) criteria was a misrepresentation of facts and in tactic deviation from the existing procedure."

The FCFS policy, however, was defended on the ground that it had been followed by previous regimes as well and telecom regulator TRAI did not suggestion auctions. Former cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar has been quoted to say that a loss would accrue in the context of current policy, not one considered as an alternative.

However, the report appears to have skipped Chandrasekhar's testimony that he had informed the PM that a market evaluation indicated that the licences could have earned revenue of around Rs 30,000 crore that was foregone.

The draft went on to find fault with former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh for allocations of additional spectrum when the late Pramod Mahajan was minister. It also said this decision caused a revenue loss.

The report said Raja had not been "fair" in advancing the cut-off date for 2G applicants to September 25, 2007 and expressed "utter dissatisfaction" that the decision taken on November 2, 2007 was notified only on January 10, 2008, when letters of intent were issued.

The draft said, "The CBI stated that the official note dated 7 January, 2008 was forged by the minister of communications and information technology with later inclusion of words 'press release appd (sic) as amended'."

On auctions being considered as a means of allocating spectrum, the draft said, "...there were references regarding the need for revision of licence fee and spectrum charges from the PMO and the ministry of finance. However, such suggestions do not by themselves enjoy any mandate unless and until they are transformed into decisions."

The committee further said that by the end of the NDA tenure, "...we are inclined to conclude that the spirit of TRAI's recommendations as contained in Cabinet decision dated 31 October, 2003 which envisioned a new era of Unified Licensing for de-linking spectrum from licensing remained a reality on paper only."


The Times of India, 19 April, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2G-scam-JPC-clears-Manmohan-Singh-Chidambaram-pins-Rs-40000-crore-loss-on-NDA/articleshow/19624058.cms


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