Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta has accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of failing to prevent ‘illegality’ in the allocation of 2G spectrum in spite of having had “full knowledge” of the goings-on.
In a hard-hitting statement — which was in response to the letter written by the former Telecommunications Minister and DMK Lok Sabha MP A. Raja to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G spectrum issue — Mr. Gupta, who is also a member of the 20-member JPC, said Mr. Raja had specifically stated that Dr. Singh was aware of all that was being done.
“From the facts available all around, I also believe that what Mr. Raja is saying is not incorrect. If the PM had known what the Telecom Minister was doing, the conclusion is inescapable that he did not take any action to prevent the perpetration of the malpractice that Mr. Raja is undoubtedly responsible for...”
Mr. Gupta said the Prime Minister’s Office had prepared a number of notes following Dr. Singh’s demand for independent evaluation of the chain of events in the process. In one such note, prepared by a high official of the PMO, it was categorically stated that the course of action of Mr. Raja was prima facie not correct.
“All these files were seen by the PM and all this happened before the actual distribution of spectrum. Not only [did] the PM [know] all the complaints, [but] he had seen all the letters written by Mr. Raja defending his position and the notes that were all prepared by his officials in the PMO. He was also aware of the objections of the Finance Ministry.
“Therefore, it is evidently clear that he had full knowledge of the entire development. But he had refrained from taking any step to prevent the occurrence of the illegality. Even after the letter of intent was issued, the licences could have been withheld. He did not do that,” Mr. Gupta charged.
