Government defends Telecom Minister A Raja in court

Chennai: The government has told the Supreme Court that the policies of Telecom Minister A Raja - and his controversial allocation of 2G spectrum - have not caused any losses to the government.

Government's defense in court:
The government auditor CAG does not have the authority to question the policy decision as per which licence were issued to new players in 2008.
All decisions with regard to 2G spectrum allocation in 2008 were taken as per government policy that was being followed by Raja's predecessors since 1999.
CAG had similar harsh observations even in 1999 when the operators were migrated from fixed licence fee to revenue-sharing.
And the licences along with start-up 2G spectrum were also allocated in 2008 according to the same policy, ministry officials said.

"Therefore, it is respectfully submitted that the allotment process in 2007-08 was correct as per law and in keeping with the extant policy and procedures," the telecom ministry said in the affidavit. (Read: Telecom department files affidavit in Supreme Court, defends Raja)

By defending Raja vehemently in court, the government may have gifted the Opposition another missile to launch in Parliament as it targets the government - especially the Congress - over pervasive corruption.

The government's auditor - the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) - has in a draft report represented losses of rs 1.76 lakh crore because of Raja's decision to skip an auction for 2G spectrum in 2008. The government in its affidavit to court stated that this amount "is misconceived."

The CAG report states, "The Honourable Minister of Communication & IT, for no apparent logical or valid reasons, ignored the advice of Ministry of Law and Ministry of Finance, avoided the deliberations of the Telecom Commission to allocate 2G spectrum, a scarce finite national asset at less than its true value on flexible criteria and procedures adopted to benefit a few operators." (Read: CAG slams Raja for 'ignoring advice on 2G without logic')

The CAG report has added meat to the Opposition's demand that Raja, who is from the DMK, be dismissed. DMK sources say that party leader M Karunanidhi will study the CAG report on Friday.

He is likely to discuss the issue with the PM when Manmohan Singh returns on Saturday evening from South Korea where he is attending the G-20 summit.

However, sources add, if Karunanidhi decides that Raja has to step down, the announcement will be made only after his grandson's wedding in Madurai on November 18.

On Thursday, the DMK spokesperson in Delhi said the party has no misgivings about keeping Raja in government. (Read: Is DMK prepping for 'Telecom Raja' to go?)

"This case is pending in the Supreme Court. CAG is only an audit forum ...if we go by CAG reports, no minister would be able to function," said DMK spokesperson, TKS Elangovan.

The Congress has hinted broadly that it cannot force the DMK to sack Raja because of the co-dependence that's embedded in any coalition. The DMK provides the government with the support of 18 MPs at the Centre. (Read: Can the PM sack DMK's A Raja?)

"We have to respect coalition dharma," said Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan on Wednesday.


Source: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/government-defends-telecom-minister-a-raja-in-court-65756?cp