New Delhi: In court today, DMK leader Kanimozhi, like others arrested for the telecom scam, included the Prime Minister and P Chidambaram in her line of defense.
Kanimozhi said that in 2008, when A Raja of her party was Telecom Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and Mr Chidambaram, who was then Finance Minister, were aware that Mr Raja had decided not to auction second-generation or 2G spectrum to companies applying for licenses. Instead, he sold the licenses at rates determined in 2001. Many experts have argued that this decision cost the government thousands of crores.
Mr Raja was arrested in February - he is accused of selling licenses for mobile networks and accompanying frequency at hefty bargains to companies who did not qualify for telecom licenses.
One of those companies - Swan Telecom- allegedly routed a 214-core kickback to Mr Raja via a TV channel in Chennai that's partly owned by Kanimozhi, whose father M Karunanidhi heads the DMK. The party is a member of the UPA coalition at the Centre; Kanimozhi's arrest has considerably strained the relations between her party and the Congress. The tension was reflected today as her lawyer said in court, "I will call the PM as a defense witness if this trial goes on".
Since her arrest in May, Kanimozhi has said that the money from Swan to her TV channel was a loan that was returned with interest. She has also said that she was not actively involved in the business affairs of the channel.
Mr Raja has been charged with cheating and criminal conspiracy; he has also been accused of ignoring the advice of other members of the government to auction licenses, which would have meant higher revenue for the government. "I am showing you (judge) the minutes of the meeting in which the Prime Minister, the then Finance Minister and the Telecom Minister decided that the licenses for the 2G spectrum was not to be auctioned," senior advocate Sushil Kumar, appearing for Kanimozhi, told the judge conducting the 2G trial in Delhi.
The telecom scam, according to the CBI, which is investigating the case, has cost the government nearly 30,000 crores. Kanimozhi's lawyer said the CBI's case is based on the premise that the absence of an auction was responsible for these huge losses.
Kanimozhi said that in 2008, when A Raja of her party was Telecom Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and Mr Chidambaram, who was then Finance Minister, were aware that Mr Raja had decided not to auction second-generation or 2G spectrum to companies applying for licenses. Instead, he sold the licenses at rates determined in 2001. Many experts have argued that this decision cost the government thousands of crores.
Mr Raja was arrested in February - he is accused of selling licenses for mobile networks and accompanying frequency at hefty bargains to companies who did not qualify for telecom licenses.
One of those companies - Swan Telecom- allegedly routed a 214-core kickback to Mr Raja via a TV channel in Chennai that's partly owned by Kanimozhi, whose father M Karunanidhi heads the DMK. The party is a member of the UPA coalition at the Centre; Kanimozhi's arrest has considerably strained the relations between her party and the Congress. The tension was reflected today as her lawyer said in court, "I will call the PM as a defense witness if this trial goes on".
Since her arrest in May, Kanimozhi has said that the money from Swan to her TV channel was a loan that was returned with interest. She has also said that she was not actively involved in the business affairs of the channel.
Mr Raja has been charged with cheating and criminal conspiracy; he has also been accused of ignoring the advice of other members of the government to auction licenses, which would have meant higher revenue for the government. "I am showing you (judge) the minutes of the meeting in which the Prime Minister, the then Finance Minister and the Telecom Minister decided that the licenses for the 2G spectrum was not to be auctioned," senior advocate Sushil Kumar, appearing for Kanimozhi, told the judge conducting the 2G trial in Delhi.
The telecom scam, according to the CBI, which is investigating the case, has cost the government nearly 30,000 crores. Kanimozhi's lawyer said the CBI's case is based on the premise that the absence of an auction was responsible for these huge losses.
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