The allegation of a Rs. one-lakh-crore scam in the Telecommunications Department during the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, made by Union Minister for Telecommunications and Information Technology A. Raja, was an attempt by him to wriggle out of the spectrum scandal, said AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa.
In a statement here on Monday, Ms. Jayalalithaa said that while it was up to the BJP to comment on Mr. Raja’s charge, the considered opinion of many people was that Mr. Raja had raised the issue only after the CBI had conducted an enquiry into the spectrum scandal and after the demand for his resignation over the issue.
The AIADMK leader said it was surprising that the issue had not been raised so far even though Mr.Raja and Mr. Dayanidhi Maran had held the portfolio since 2004. As the DMK was a constituent of the then NDA Ministry, she asked whether the party was aware of such a scam.
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If it was aware, she asked why its Ministers — Murasoli Maran and T. R. Baalu — had not raised the issue at the Cabinet meetings. If they were not aware of the issue, it would mean that there was no transparency in the functioning of the NDA government, she added.