“There is no basis for the charges framed against me in the 2G spectrum case,” the former Telecom Minister and Nilgiris MP, A. Raja, said on Sunday.
Speaking at a reception hosted by DMK workers here, he said he would disprove the charges.
People must know
Mr. Raja said he did not want to speak on matters that were in court, but said certain matters had to be placed before the people: when the case was opened in 2009, the alleged loss, on account of the allotment of spectrum and licence, estimated by the Central Vigilance Commission was Rs. 22,000 crore.
Subsequently, the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) put the presumptive loss at Rs. 1.76 lakh crore. Later, the CBI charge sheet brought the figure down to Rs. 33,000 crore.
Unfortunately, a section of the media kept harping on the CAG's report, he said.
Highlighting the arguments he made, in person, before the trial court, Mr. Raja said the CBI's case did not mention the presumptive loss.
He had sought proof from the CBI, and the charges against him now related only to out-of-turn allotments. The CBI had raided 35 places, including the houses of all his siblings, but failed to get hold of anything incriminating.
No one was above the law, Mr. Raja declared, before asserting that he was ready to counter the charges; even if one more case was filed against him, he was prepared to face it.
Greater tele-density
He said he suffered a set-back of 15 months (the time he spent in jail), but his achievements spoke for themselves: the tele-density went up from 30 crore to 80 crore; now, it was touching the 100-crore mark.
Cheaper rates
The call rate was brought down from Re. 1 to 10 paise. The spectrum was used to take the benefits of communication to more people.
Mr. Raja also addressed meetings at other places, including Coonoor.
