NEW DELHI: Hailing the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Devas-Antrix deal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the scandal was a “fraud on people of India, fraud against the country by the Congress”. The minister alleged that the S-band spectrum which should have been reserved for the defence forces was being given to private parties for a pittance by the UPA government.
“Rs 579 crore was brought in by Devas but almost 85% of it was siphoned out of India. So, you bring in investment, take it away and fight arbitration outside with that money, and call that investment made in India?” said Sitharaman, adding that the government is protecting the money of the taxpayers by fighting cases in international courts against the scam committed during the UPA government.
“Antrix-Devas deal was a fraud by the Congress, of Congress, for (the) Congress,” charged Sitharaman. She added that in a 2011 interview, the then Telecom Minister had said the Cabinet was not aware of the details of the deal.
“The Antrix-Devas agreement was signed during the UPA government and it took six full years for the UPA to cancel the agreement in 2011,” added Sitharaman. The minister stated that the apex court in a verdict delivered on January 17 maintained the NCLAT order on liquidation of the Devas multimedia company on the grounds that the entity had been incorporated for fraudulent purposes.