New Delhi, July 25: The undertrial A. Raja summoned fresh tribulation on the UPA government ahead of Parliament’s monsoon session telling the 2G special court today that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then finance minister P. Chidambaram were not only aware of spectrum equity sales by Swan and Unitech to foreign companies but also held the transactions legitimate.
“The matter pertaining to the sale of equity by spectrum licensees was discussed between the Prime Minister and (the) then finance minister,” Sushil Kumar, counsel for the former telecom minister told the court. “Chidambaram had told Manmohan Singh that the issue of sale of equity by spectrum licensees, Swan Telecom and Unitech, to attract FDI did not amount to sale of licence as per corporate law. Let the PM deny it.”
Post lunch, Raja’s counsel hastened a retraction emphasising to the court his intention was not to shift responsibility. “I am not shifting blame on anybody, they are not guilty with me, this is my case,” Kumar said in vain course-correction. By then the simmering scam was newly inflamed and leaping ahead of the nitty-gritty of court submissions into political bellicosity. Delhi rang aloud with charge and counter-charge again today, and with barely a week left for Parliament to reassemble, it could well be a teaser to the sound and fury that awaits.
Shot in one foot by fresh indictment of Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, the BJP flung its other at the Congress, demanding the immediate resignation of Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram.
“The two must resign forthwith as they have no legal, political and moral authority to remain in office,” BJP president Nitin Gadkari said. “There is substantial evidence that the rules of the game in allocation of 2G licenses were changed after the game had begun. The Prime Minister kept quiet.”
Clearly on the defensive on Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s observations against Yeddyurappa, Gadkari parried a while, then thought better of it and punched. “Sonia Gandhi had made a statement on no compromise against corruption. I wonder what action she is going to take against her Prime Minister and home minister,” he chortled.
CPM leader Brinda Karat too joined in, although only seeking an “explanation” from Singh and Chidambaram in light of the “new revelation” made by Raja.
On the face of it, the Congress feigned calm detachment from court proceedings, saying Raja’s submission amounted to nothing more than the “desperate defence strategy of an accused”. It spun new rhetoric on the Prime Minister’s personal integrity, likening any questioning of it to “spitting on the sun”. But Raja had jangled nerves in the ruling establishment.
Chidambaram essayed an elaborate defence, part of which was unleashing a right hook on the BJP saying it was targeting selective ministers because the UPA government has quickened investigations into the cases involving right-wing terror groups. “What I suspect is that we have quickened the investigations into a number of bomb blast cases where right-wing fundamentalist organisations are involved. We have quickened.... We have persuaded the court to hear two Ayodhya cases on a more or less day-to-day basis,” he said.
On the 2G scam, Chidambaram was blunt to allegations of any wrongdoing. “There was no equity sale. There was only issue of fresh equity to foreign partners under FDI rules framed under the NDA government…. I think the department of telecom had approved the induction of new partners. I do not think there was any sale of spectrum.”
NDA-era telecom minister Arun Shourie was insistent Chidambaram was guilty of being in the know of gross impropriety and said neither he nor the Prime Minister could “escape responsibility because the record shows they knew of wrongdoing”. The man currently in charge of telecom, Kapil Sibal, turned out to bat off Shourie’s charges. “The Prime Minister and the then finance minister did not know Raja was implementing, and that is precisely the point. What Raja is saying now is the defence strategy of an accused, nothing more,” Sibal argued.
So insisted the Congress, whose spokespersons were subjected to prolonged grilling by journalists. They maintained there was “not an iota of evidence” to suggest Raja had been knowingly allowed to deviate from the stated policy.
“There is a trust between the Prime Minister and his cabinet colleague. The Prime Minister cannot be hauled up for trusting his minister,” a spokesperson said, fairly reversing the needle in Raja’s direction.
Congress leaders argued that the two most vital issues — spectrum pricing and awarding of contracts — were not discussed in the cabinet and that Raja took the decision himself. They also held that communication between Chidambaram and Raja happened after January 2008 when the contracts had already been awarded.
The party is engaged rather unreservedly in the defence of the Prime minister.
Responding to questions about Raja’s deposition, Manish Tiwari said: “We do not want to give a running commentary on the court proceedings but we would like to emphasise that the version of an accused should not be given undue importance. The nation knows Manmohan Singh is a symbol of truth, justice and cleanliness.”
When asked about his responsibility as the head of the cabinet, Tiwari said: “There was nothing wrong in the policy and the Prime Minister had no role in the implementation of the policy. The accused may say anything to save himself for it would be a sad day for Indian democracy if we rely on his claims to run down the Prime Minister.”
But the Congress rhetoric isn’t washing, what with the Jan Lok Pal campaign too waiting in the wings. Tiwari, and his colleagues in the treasury trenches, may have protracted battling to do once Parliament opens.
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