Former Telecom Minister A Raja launched an offensive against the Joint parliamentary Committee on the 2G spectrum scam, while rejecting the clean chit given to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by the panel in its draft report leaked to the media last week.
Raja on Monday hit back at the panel by submitting a 112-page report to JPC chairman P C Chacko, claiming he never took a unilateral decision and the entire process of spectrum allocation was discussed and cleared after consulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, then External Affairs Minister (EAM) Pranab Mukherjee and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
“Every major decision of mine was taken after consultation first with the DoT officers and thereafter with the Hon’ble PM, FM and EAM. All issues, including entry fee, non-auction of spectrum, FCFS (first-come-first-served policy), processing of applications till 25.09.2007, etc., were personally discussed by me with the Hon’ble PM, and the DoT proceeded only thereafter,” Raja said in his submission.
Taking a swipe at Chacko for finding no fault with the PM and his Cabinet colleagues involved in the process, Raja in a separate two page-letter said he had always had concerns about the JPC’s credibility, the procedure it was adopting and the report it would ultimately give.... “And my concerns appear to be justified,” Raja said. Rejecting the charge that he misled the PM, Raja said, “It is mandatory to record both my statements and the statement of the PM.”