Amid reports that Unitech has refused to give in to telecom JV partner Telenor’s demand that Sanjay Chandra quit as chairman of Unitech Wireless in the wake of his name appearing in the CBI charge sheet in the 2G spectrum scam, the Norwegian company has again demanded Mr. Chandra’s resignation.
“Sanjay Chandra is facing serious accusations, and Telenor expects him to focus on defending his case in court while Unitech Wireless focuses on running its business,” said Glenn Mandelid, Director of Communications, Telenor, Asia.
“We therefore still believe that a temporary resignation for as long as the 2G court case is ongoing is the appropriate action, and we will continue to persuade Unitech that Sanjay Chandra steps down, and that they appoint a replacement, as this would be in Unitech Wireless’ best interest,” Mr. Mandelid added.
Telenor holds the majority stake of 67.25 per cent stake in Uninor, a joint venture between Telenor and Unitech Wireless, a subsidiary of Unitech.
Telenor had last week asked Unitech to appoint a substitute for Sanjay Chandra till the court case in the 2G spectrum scam is completed.
When contacted, Unitech refused to comment on the issue.
The charge sheet by the Central Bureau of Investigation has named, Sanjay Chandra, Managing Director of Unitech and also names Unitech Wireless for actions when it was a fully-owned Unitech company, prior to Telenor entering India.
Recently, some differences have also emerged between Telenor and Unitech over rights issue, which is now in the court. While the board of Unitech Wireless had approved for rights, Unitech has opposed the move and approached court against decision of Unitech Wireless board.
Court has stayed the rights issue approval by Uninor board. Telenor further approached court to vacate the stay.
The matter is sub judice and is due for hearing on May 15.
