A Raaja : Pranab,Singh,were informed on 2G licencing policy
2G scam: Raja accuses Vahanvati of telling untruths against him
Raja,
who could not personally appear before the JPC, has responded to a
questionnaire sent by the committee, saying the Prime Minister and the
then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee were kept informed on
the licencing policy.
In
his 17-page note, Raja has said that he had "exchanged letter" with the
Prime Minister on November 2, 2007 on various issues relating to the
telecom sector and also had subsequent personal discussions on the
subject.
"It
was agreed in these discussions that the Minister of Communication and
IT would have discussions with Sh Pranab Mukherjee, the then External
Affairs Minister, since he was heading the Group of Ministers on
vacation of spectrum," he said in his March 13 note to JPC.
He
said discussions were held between him and Mukherjee in December, 2007
on subscriber base criteria for allotment of additional spectrum, issue
of dual technology and issue of new licences.
Giving
details of the sequence of events in run up to the allocation done in
January 2008, Raja said Vahanvati, the then Solicitor General, was also
present in these discussions as same issues were the subject of
litigation before Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal
(TDSAT).
It
is evident that the letter of 26.12.2007 sent by the Minister of
Communication and IT to the Hon'ble PM is nothing but an encapsulation
of the note given by the Solicitor General and the subsequent
discussions between the SG, External Affairs Minister and Minister of
Communication and IT.
Hitting
out at Vahanvati for his contention before JPC that the controversial
press release regarding 2G licences was changed at the last minute by
him (Raja) in 2008 with a different pen, Raja said the Solicitor General
had defended the same press release for two years in different courts
without raising any question on its authenticity.
He
said for the purpose of discussions with Mukherjee, Vahanvati had
prepared a note dealing with subscriber base criteria for allotment of
additional spectrum, issue of dual technology, manner in which spectrum
will be allocated and the issue of new telecom licences.
"...Thus
government is obliged to scrutinise the pending applications and if the
applicants are found eligible, to issue licences on a
first-come-first-served basis..." Raja told JPC quoting Vahanvati's
note.
Raja
said based on Vahanvati's note, on December 26, 2007 Mukherjee also
prepared his own note and forwarded both the documents to the Prime
Minister.
He said on the same day, he also sent a letter to the Prime Minister based on the discussions with Mukherjee and Vahanvati.
Hitting
back at the AG over his deposition before JPC, Raja said Vahanvati's
claim that he was not involved in any policy decision by the government
was not correct as his note to Mukherjee contained the "essence" of the
entire policy of the DoT.
Raja
said Vahanvati's explanation that DoT had approached him with the press
release to know whether there was a stay in any court on the issue of
licences is "absurd and unbelievable".
"This
factual point was well within the knowledge of the DoT, and the SG's
opinion was being asked on the policy," the DMK MP told the JPC.
In
reply to a specific query by JPC as to when was the sentence 'press
release approved as amended' recorded by him in the file, Raja said it
was written before the file was sent to Vahanvati.
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