Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has admitted that pressure from the former Telecom Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, forced the pricing of 2G spectrum out of the purview of a Group of Ministers set up to deal with the issue.
“It is certainly true that one draft was prepared, and it included spectrum prices,” Dr. Singh told reporters on Tuesday en-route from New York to New Delhi.
Mr. Maran, the Prime Minister said, then objected, arguing that “spectrum pricing is the bread and butter and the integral part of the terms of the business of his department.” “In any case,” Dr. Singh paraphrased Mr. Maran as saying, “a large group of Ministers sitting here is not going to be able to deal effectively with the complicated and technical aspects involved.”
“I came to the conclusion that by agreeing with the Minister's [Dayanidhi Maran's] point of view would not sacrifice anything which is essential to the success of the process.”
Mr. Maran voiced his concerns in a February 28, 2006 letter to the Prime Minister. In the letter, he complained that the terms of reference for the Group of Ministers on 2G spectrum issues “impinge upon the work normally to be carried out by the Ministry [Department of Telecommunications].”
Back in 2006, the Prime Minister explained, the government's “real concern was how we should persuade the Defence Ministry to release spectrum and how that spectrum should [be made available] to the civilian economy.” Mr. Maran's request was, therefore, acceded to.
In 2007, a note prepared earlier this year by the Finance Ministry for the Prime Minister's Office records, the Department of Telecommunications precluded further involvement of the Department of Economic Affairs in spectrum pricing. The Finance Ministry did not subsequently pursue the issue.
Correction
In the story, headlined 'PM blames Maran for genesis of 2G scam,' published on September 28, the headline was incorrect. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who revealed that he eventually agreed with Mr. Maran in this matter, did not blame him but acknowledged what happened. This is the Prime Minister's verbatim response to a question on the letter on spectrum pricing written to the Prime Minister by Mr. Maran, leading to amendments of the Terms of Reference: "Well, that was way back in 2006. At that time licensing of what took place in 2007 or 2008 was not on the horizon. The real concern of the government at that point was that we should persuade the Defence Ministry to vacate spectrum and that spectrum should be made available to the civilian economy. In the process, we will make lot of money and also the economy would gain efficiency. And it is certainly true that one draft that was prepared did include spectrum prices and Mr. Dayanidhi Maran did object and he said spectrum pricing is a bread and butter and integral part of the rule of business of his department, and any case he said that a large group like GOM that we are setting up is not going to be able to deal effectively with the complicated technical aspects involved. And furthermore, it was pointed out to me that there was a Cabinet decision of 2003, which said that spectrum pric es is a matter which should be discussed between the Finance Ministry and the Telecom Ministry. And in the light of all that I came to the conclusion that my agreeing with Mr. Maran ’s point of view would not amount to sacrificing anything which is essential and integral to the success of the process."
