Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal brought the government into another stand-off with the Bhartiya Janata Party, accusing it of stalling Parliament in the winter session to prevent the cover up the National Democratic Alliance regime's lapses.
Amidst the flurry of allegations against former telecom minister A Raja and the strong indictment of his handling of 2G spectrum allocation, the controversy is taking a dramatic new turn with hitherto unpublished documents indicating that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh may have some clarifications to make.
The Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the 2G spectrum scam has been tabled in Parliament. The report was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Finance (EB&I) Namo Narayan Meena. The report was placed in the Loks Sabha by Minister of State for Finance (Revenue) SS Palanimanickam.
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on the plea for a probe into the alleged role of Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam after a spirited defence of him from government and the Central Bureau of Investigation, both of which maintained that no case has been made out against him.
Union Minister M K Alagiri on Monday spent half-an-hour with his stepsister Kanimozhi, who is behind bars for her role in the 2G scam, in Tihar jail. Kanimozhi affectionately addressed Alagiri as anna (brother) as the two spent time together discussing Tamil Nadu politics and the on-going Parliament session.
Former telecom minister Arun Shourie responds to the Shivraj Patil committee's findings on the 2G spectrum scam, in this interview with Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN programme 'Devil's Advocate'. Excerpts:
The government has accepted Telecom Engineering Centre's report that has suggested tough norms for spectrum allocation to GSM operators, a move that may make it difficult for players like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to get additional frequency.
A day after mobile charges were hiked by leading operators, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday said consumers should be offered the lowest call rates. "We want consumers to be offered calls at lowest rates," Sibal told PTI.
The 700-Mhz spectrum band ranges from 698 Mhz to 806 Mhz and has been identified by the International Telecommunication Union for telecom services.
The government is likely to extend fiscal incentives for production of toys, bicycles and leather and footwear in the forthcoming budget as it looks to expand production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to cover more high-employment potential sectors, sources said. The government has already rolled out the scheme with an outlay of about Rs 2 lakh crore for as many as 14 sectors, including automobiles and auto components, white goods, pharma, textiles, food products, high efficiency solar PV modules, advance chemistry cell and speciality steel. The scheme aims to make domestic manufacturing globally competitive and create global champions in manufacturing, and it is yielding solid results, sources said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said that the allotment of 2G spectrum licences by the Union ministry of telecommunications to private companies was 'the largest scam in Independent India' and it had cost the government Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion).
The telecom ministry has referred the matter of number of 3G spectrum slots in each circle to the Finance Ministry.
As former telecom minister A Raja secured bail in the 2G spectrum case, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday said the case appeared to be getting "diluted". Jayalalithaa was replying to a question from reporters on a Delhi court granting bail to Raja, the prime accused in the case, 15 months after he was sent to jail.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday opposed in a Delhi court the bail plea of former telecom minister A Raja, arrested for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation case last year, saying the agency is probing an allegation that the DMK minister got Rs 200 crore in bribe. CBI prosecutor A K Singh opposed Raja's bail plea, saying there is a new allegation that he has received Rs 200 crore as bribe and this angle is being investigated.
If the prime minister doesn't plan to step down post the FDI fiasco, he should get down to real governance -- and can start by having the numerous clowns in his court shut up, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran has been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the allegations that he had received Rs 547 crore as kickbacks from a Malaysian company in the controversial Aircel-Maxis deal.
Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, takes on the government, especially Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Addressing a hurriedly called press conference to clear his position in the wake of Left parties demanding a probe, alleging Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) loss to the exchequer in spectrum allocation, the minister said that Trai recommendations were followed in letter and spirit.
The Congress core group is meeting later in the evening where the implementation of Kirit Parikh Committee report on fuel pricing reforms may be discussed.
Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi's son Tamilarasu and daughter Selvi met their half-sister Kanimozhi, who has been arrested in the 2G spectrum case, at a trial court in New Delhi.
Back in 2007, Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar had raised the issue and questioned the government's decision to allot 2G spectrum without calling for tenders. Chandrasekhar had warned the prime minister about the non-transparent methods of Raja and the scam that was brewing. He also wrote to all political parties to create a consensus on the issue
The issue of corruption will be tested when the results of Tamil Nadu assembly elections would be declared on May 13.
Former telecom minister A Raja's plea to witness and assist his counsel during the proceedings in the Supreme Court on the 2G scam case was on Friday dismissed by a Delhi court. Raja, in his application, had sought permission to appear and witness the judicial proceedings in the apex court so that he can assist his lawyer Sushil Kumar there.
Alagiri's grouse is that the party has not taken strong action against three persons -- A Raja, Kanimozhi and Poongothai Aladi Aruna.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja's erstwhile Private Secretary R K Chandolia was today imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 by the Delhi high court for making a plea to it to summon a plethora of documents from the P)rime Minister's Office to help him cross-examine a 2G case witness in the trial court.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday got support from the Press Council whose chief Markandey Katju said that he favoured filtering of "offensive material" on social networking sites as it could promote religious hatred.
Before leaving on a 10-day foreign visit starting Monday, Sharma said he would address concerns of foreign retail sector investors and ensure help in setting up stores.
Refusing to be labeled as an enemy of the social media, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has called for the Internet to be governed by regulations similar to the print and the electronic media.
The government on Thursday said that it will evolve a consensus on rules for control of internet content after talking to various stakeholders including MPs and industry representatives.
Government on Thursday said that it will evolve a consensus on rules for control of internet content after talking to various stakeholders including MPs and industry representatives.
Former telecom minister and Dravid Munetra Kazhagam politician A Raja has threatened to start a hunger strike unless he is allowed to appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee that is probing alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum and licences during his ministerial tenure in 2008.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said the new version of the low-cost Aakash tablet PC is expected to be available to students on November 11.
Communist Party of India-Marxist member in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum allocation Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday supported calling former Telecom Minister A Raja as a witness before the panel saying it will help reaching "closer to the truth".
It's not for nothing that Dr Subramanian Swamy is called a maverick. And the maverick was at his best once again while speaking on the 2G scam and its implications in Mumbai, just a day after the trial court judge O P Saini dismissed his petition to make Home Minister P Chidambaram a co-accused with former disgraced telecom minister A Raja in the allocation of the scandal.
Trial in the 2G spectrum case, involving former Telecom Minister A Raja and 16 others, on Monday resumed in a Delhi court after nearly a month with the special judge asking everyone not to discuss the matter outside the courtroom.
Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan was named a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the 2G spectrum scam after her colleague Abhishek Singhvi recused himself taking the plea that he had appeared for cellular operators in the court as a senior advocate.
Telephone calls from Congress ministers at the Centre, including Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, on behalf of the party high command may have forced Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi to seal the fate of Union Telecom Minister A Raja, who was asked to resign after he landed in Delhi last night.
Seeking urgent steps by mobile operators to check call drops, regulator TRAI on Wednesday said their performance would be reviewed after 15 days and warned it will "cross the bridge" if they fail to do the needful.
The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on a plea seeking a direction to the Prime Minister for grant of sanction for prosecution of former Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G Spectrum case.
Corporate lobbyist Nira Radia was on Wednesday questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for her firm's alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
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