NEW DELH: Former Telecom Secretary A V Gokak on Wednesday informed the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) that he overruled the directives of then Prime Minister I K Gujral in 1997 to help telecom operators.
In 1997, the then Prime Minister decided that Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) should look into the issue of telecom operators facing financial distress and submit a report.
However, Gokak, who served as Telecom Secretary between November 1996 and August 1998, decided to ask the Bureau of Industrial Cost and Pricing (BICP) to carry out the study and bring out a report at the earliest. He also authorised ICICI to submit a report.
JPC chairman P C Chacko said: “The committee members told him that he had no right to overrule the Prime Minister. But Gokak said he wanted to help the industry. The members were not satisfied.”
The JPC chairman said that Gokak opined that the BICP and ICICI could carry out the study faster than TRAI.
But reports came after 11 months.