New Delhi: The controversy over the letter bomb continues with the BJP demanding that Home Minister P Chidambaram quit or be removed. The Congress who is on the defensive says Chidambaram who was then finance minister, may have exercised an error of judgment, but there is no question of criminal culpability.
The entire controversy rages about a letter sent by Pranab Mukherjee's Finance Ministry in March this year to Dr Manmohan Singh's office. The note suggests that Mr Chidambaram could have been more proactive as Finance Minister when India's greatest scam was unleashed in 2008 by A Raja, who was then Telecom Minister. The note which was marked "secret," was accessed by a Right to Information activist, and presented on Thursday in the Supreme Court, which is monitoring the investigations into the telecom 2G scam.
The note has provided the opposition with ammunition to attack the government on an issue, where the UPA is already on the defensive. Speaking to NDTV, BJP senior leader Arun Jaitley says the note is a matter of serious concern.
Denying government's claims that a finance official wrote the note without it being cleared by Mr Mukherjee Jaitley said, ''It (the note) has the approval of Mr Pranab Mukherjee, he approved it. It's not an official's note, it's a ministry's note and the contents of it make a lot of sense. The cabinet handed responsibility to two ministers - telecom minister and finance minister in 2003. The finance minister is protector of the national exchequer he protects the revenue. In 2007-08 he was to exercise his power in a manner that the best revenue comes. To agree to 2001 prices in 2008 required a change of stance. Why did he change his stance? Why did he agree to 2001 prices?''
Asked what he felt was the reason for the tension between the finance minister and the home minister Jaitley replied. I would not like to comment on that. I am only concerned with the issue, which is we have under sold the spectrum. If the public exchequer has lost money because of under selling of the spectrum then somebody is accountable. So it's either the then telecom minister or the then finance minister.
The entire controversy rages about a letter sent by Pranab Mukherjee's Finance Ministry in March this year to Dr Manmohan Singh's office. The note suggests that Mr Chidambaram could have been more proactive as Finance Minister when India's greatest scam was unleashed in 2008 by A Raja, who was then Telecom Minister. The note which was marked "secret," was accessed by a Right to Information activist, and presented on Thursday in the Supreme Court, which is monitoring the investigations into the telecom 2G scam.
The note has provided the opposition with ammunition to attack the government on an issue, where the UPA is already on the defensive. Speaking to NDTV, BJP senior leader Arun Jaitley says the note is a matter of serious concern.
Denying government's claims that a finance official wrote the note without it being cleared by Mr Mukherjee Jaitley said, ''It (the note) has the approval of Mr Pranab Mukherjee, he approved it. It's not an official's note, it's a ministry's note and the contents of it make a lot of sense. The cabinet handed responsibility to two ministers - telecom minister and finance minister in 2003. The finance minister is protector of the national exchequer he protects the revenue. In 2007-08 he was to exercise his power in a manner that the best revenue comes. To agree to 2001 prices in 2008 required a change of stance. Why did he change his stance? Why did he agree to 2001 prices?''
Asked what he felt was the reason for the tension between the finance minister and the home minister Jaitley replied. I would not like to comment on that. I am only concerned with the issue, which is we have under sold the spectrum. If the public exchequer has lost money because of under selling of the spectrum then somebody is accountable. So it's either the then telecom minister or the then finance minister.
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