A well-known amateur radio operator, Dayanidhi Maran, has joined a growing list of top politicians and corporate honchos to be felled by the 2G spectrum scam in which DMK was further dealt a body blow with its two leaders already behind bars.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Wednesday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should immediately respond to the Supreme Court's observation on the delay in the prosecution of former telecom minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation issue. "The PM should immediately respond to what the Supreme Court has said on Raja issue," Advani said. He said, "We are demanding a probe by a joint parliamentary committee into the issue in Parliament."
A Delhi court on Saturday started recording the statement of Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy, who is seeking the prosecution of Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G case. Swamy had sought the court's permission to examine witnesses, including senior Central Bureau of Investigation officials, to establish erstwhile finance minister and present Home Minister P Chidambaram's alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation.
The CBI on Thursday conducted searches in the offices of the wireless planning cell, the department responsible for allocating spectrum, and the office of deputy director general (access services) at the ministry headquarters in New Delhi.
Sadiq Batcha, a key aide of former telecom minister A Raja, is said to have committed suicide at his residence in Chennai on Wednesday.
The much-awaited guidelines for the 3G policy will be out this month, assured Communications Minister Andimuthu Raja today. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference, the minister said, "It has been delayed for some time. I will ensure that the policy is out by the 30th of June."
Legal battles involving corporate czars like the Ambanis and Tatas figured prominently in the Supreme Court in 2010, but it was the Niira Radia controversy that threw the light on the corporate prowess in certain quarters of the government, already under fire over a telecom scam.
Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy on Thursday moved the Supreme Court to challenge the trial court order which had held that Home Minister P Chidmbaram did not indulge in any criminal conspiracy in the 2G case and refused to make him an accused in it. Swamy has alleged that Chidambaram as culpable as former telecom minister A Raja as he also had a role in deciding the spectrum pricing and allowing telecom companies to off-load shares to foreign firms.
The drafting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee report on 2G scam could be delayed with key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam insisting on calling former Telecom Minister A Raja as a witness.
A Delhi court on Friday reserved its order on the bail plea of former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura, an accused in 2G spectrum scam case, who countered the conspiracy charge against him by saying he was implementing a policy backed by the Prime minister.
Since Dr Singh did not explicitly tell A Raja to stop, the minister sped down his chosen road, says T V R Shenoy.
In a setback to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi and seven others, a Delhi court on Thursday dismissed their bail pleas in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, in its second chargesheet likely to be filed on Monday, may name Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, wife Dayalu Ammal and several others for allegedly getting benefits out of the allocation of 2G spectrum to certain telecom firms.
Idea takes the matter back to Supreme Court as cancellation-hit telcos make decisive moves.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the government to respond to the CAG report that points towards large-scale irregularities and favouritism allegedly by Telecom Minister A Raja in the Rs 70,000-crore (Rs 700 billion) 2G spectrum allocation scam in 2008.
Even as the United Progressive Alliance government battles protests by Opposition BJP over the selection of Telecom Secretary PJ Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner, it has now been stung by one of its allies, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is reportedly upset over the lack of courtesy extended by the government on the appointment.
'The question is: Who misrepresented the facts to the then PM? It was not A Raja but Pulok Chatterjee, in consultation with T K A Nair, as he had suppressed the most relevant and controversial part of the letter of A Raja from the then Prime Minister,' says the special CBI judge in his 2G spectrum case verdict.
Telecom regulator TRAI's report purportedly assessing zero loss in 2G spectrum allocation during the tenure of former Telecom Minister A Raja on Wednesday came under sharp criticism of the Supreme Court which questioned the functioning of the autonomous body.
With opposition parties in Tamil Nadu raising doubts about the mysterious circumstances of the death of Sadiq Batcha, a key aide of former telecom minister A Raja, the state government on Wednesday decided to transfer his alleged suicide case to the Central Bureau of Intelligence.
There is definitely a mystery behind Sadiq Batcha's death, says J Gopikrishnan, the Pioneer daily journalist who broke the 2G scam story.
On February 2, the court had ordered the cancellation of 122 licences issued in January 2008 under then telecom minister, A Raja, and directed the government to conduct the auction of vacated 2G spectrum in four months.
The petition seeking review was filed nearly a month after the apex court on February 2 had cancelled 122 2G licences granted to nine telecom companies including Tata Teleservices Ltd, based on the first-come-first served policy for 22 circles.
Kanimozhi, the 43-year-old daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, and Kumar have challenged the Delhi high court verdict rejecting their bail pleas.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to five corporate executives in 2G spectrum case.
A key witness in the 2G case, who had accused former Telecom Minister A Raja and others of being involved in the scam, on Thursday told a Delhi court that he is facing threat to his life.
The much-awaited trial in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, involving high-profile accused, including former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, top corporate honchos and telecom firms, is likely to commence from Friday before a Delhi court.
The Delhi high court on Friday stayed the grant of bail to former telecom minister A Raja's ex-private secretary R K Chandolia, an accused in the 2G case.
Two days after getting bail from the Supreme Court in the 2G case, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura was on Friday released from the Tihar jail after a lapse of over 15 months since his arrest.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave bail to former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, arrested last year on February 2 for his alleged role in the 2G case, and also upheld the bail granted to former Telecom Minister A Raja's ex-Private Secretary R K Chandolia by the trial court.
The CBI has begun probing if the country's internal security too stood compromised because of the the 2G spectrum allocation to ineligible telecom operators during former Telecom Minister A Raja's tenure. During the last hearing on February 22, the CBI had told the court that it was not aware of the threat posed by allocation of 2G spectrum to some telecom firms which subsequently offloaded their shares to global firms with links to Pakistan.
The government has projected to garner up to Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion) from sale of radiowaves, mainly 3G spectrum, to telecom operators in the current financial year.
The Communist Party of India - Marxist may support the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the allegations of corruption against former telecom minister A Raja."We are of the view the government must agree to the Opposition's demand for holding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the telecom scam. If that cannot be done, than the govt must come up with an alternative mechanism to unearth the truth," said a CPM leader.
According to sources, spectrum was available in the range of 50-60 MHz in nine states and was sufficient to accommodate all the new players as well as demand from the existing operators. However, in some important circles like Delhi, only one of the new players could get initial spectrum. Some of the existing players have objected to the move, saying allocation of spectrum at this juncture would be illegal as the matter is subjudice.
Within hours of going on indefinite strike, the employee unions of BSNL on Tuesday called off the protest after the government assured that the issue of disinvestment in the telecom PSU will be referred to a Group of Ministers.
Justice Ruma Pal is to be saluted for her courageous dissent of conviction and reminding her peers that they need to put themselves on self-trial. The alternative is for India to sink further into the cesspool of even greater corruption, says C Uday Bhaskar.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rejected Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha's demand that he depose before the Joint Parliamentary Committee in the 2G spectrum scam.
Describing the functioning of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G as "scandalous", Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram appear before it for the truth to come out.
Citing former telecom minister A Raja's communication to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 2G scam, Bharatiya Janata Party member Yashwant Sinha on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking him to appear before the committee, following the allegations levelled against him. In his letter, Sinha said any hesitation on the PM's part to appear before the JPC will prove that he has "something to hide".
All the accused, including the three telecom firms and their promoters, proprietors and top executives, moved the court of Special CBI Judge O P Saini seeking direction to the investigating agency to file the TRAI report, which has said there was no loss to the exchequer in allocation of 2G spectrum.
Stating that the Centre's focus is on promoting the country's IT sector, he pointed out that this move follows the rising import of electronic as well as IT items, including software and hardware, which is expected to reach $292 billion by 2020.
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