A note on the scam sent to the Prime Minister’s Office in March exposes one of the bitterest rivalries within the UPA - that of Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram.
New Delhi, September 21 (NDTV): The telecom scam, which has struck at the heart of Indian politics, forcing the resignations of senior ministers and dumping others in jail, has delivered another forceful blow today. A note on the scam sent to the Prime Minister’s Office in March exposes one of the bitterest rivalries within the UPA - that of Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram.
The 14-page note, prepared by a senior bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry and sanctioned by Mr Mukherjee, suggests that Mr Chidambaram did not do enough to prevent the swindle when he was Finance Minister in 2008. The note relies heavily on technicalities, says Mr Chidambaram he could have “stuck to the stand” of an auction of highly-valuable spectrum, and delivers to the Opposition the windfall of two of the government’s senior-most ministers at war.
The original swindle rests on how A Raja, who was Telecom Minister in 2008, chose to give away mobile network licences and accompanying second-generation or 2G frequency in 2008. Mr Raja is in jail. Among the charges against him is that he chose not to auction the spectrum, opting instead to give licences on a first-come-first-serve basis to ineligible companies. The lack of an auction, some experts say, has cost the government thousands of crores.
While the Opposition has repeatedly accused Mr Chidambaram and the Prime Minister of allowing Mr Raja to swindle uninterrupted, the fact that his own government has now faulted Mr Chidambaram allows for a more incisive attack. The BJP was quick to seize the moment - it said Mr Chidambaram should resign. “The first thing the Prime Minister should do is to order a CBI investigation into the role of the then Finance Minister, and the present Home Minister, Mr Chidambaram, in the entire 2G spectrum scandal,” said the BJP’s Ravishankar Prasad.
Mr Chidambaram is completely in the dock. We have been saying since Day One that if Mr Chidambaram had over-ruled Mr Raja, things would have been different.” The note from Mr Mukherjee’s team suggests that even after the licenses were allocated in January 2008 at a cost of 1600 crores each to companies, the guidelines allowed the government- via the Finance Ministry - four months to cancel the deals.
The document was prepared by the Deputy Director, Economic Affairs on March 25, 2011. Notings establish that before it was sent to Dr Singh’s office, it was shown to Mr Mukherjee, implying that he endorsed its conclusions.
Mr Raja, who is now in jail, has repeatedly said that he had keep both the Prime Minister and Mr Chidambaram in the loop about his decisions on 2G spectrum. Mr Chidambaram has maintained that he tried to persuade Mr Raja on multiple occasions to opt for an auction. On January 15, five days after Mr Raja signed off on the licenses Mr Chidambaram also wrote to the PM opposing the trade of spectrum.
The note against Mr Chidambaram was produced in court today by Subramanium Swamy, who is one of the main petitioners in the case on the telecom scam that is being heard by the Supreme Court. Mr Swamy has been demanding that Mr Chidambaram be charged in the CBI’s case. “He (Chidambram) definitely had a role and the Prime Minister must explain it,” said the Left’s D Raja today, when asked to comment about Mr Chidambaram in the light of the Finance Ministry’s note.
The distrust between Mr Mukherjee and Mr Chidambaram was on public display a few months ago when it emerged that the Finance Minister had written to the PM, warning him of a possible security breach in the Finance Ministry. In September last year, Mr Mukherjee said that offices in his ministry may have been bugged and that “planted adhesives” had been found. The fact that Mr Mukherjee did not report the matter to the Home Minister was used by the Opposition as an illustration of the “trust deficit” between senior members of the government. Mr Mukherjee later said that the adhesives were most likely chewing gum, and that no evidence of espionage had emerged.
The 14-page note, prepared by a senior bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry and sanctioned by Mr Mukherjee, suggests that Mr Chidambaram did not do enough to prevent the swindle when he was Finance Minister in 2008. The note relies heavily on technicalities, says Mr Chidambaram he could have “stuck to the stand” of an auction of highly-valuable spectrum, and delivers to the Opposition the windfall of two of the government’s senior-most ministers at war.
The original swindle rests on how A Raja, who was Telecom Minister in 2008, chose to give away mobile network licences and accompanying second-generation or 2G frequency in 2008. Mr Raja is in jail. Among the charges against him is that he chose not to auction the spectrum, opting instead to give licences on a first-come-first-serve basis to ineligible companies. The lack of an auction, some experts say, has cost the government thousands of crores.
While the Opposition has repeatedly accused Mr Chidambaram and the Prime Minister of allowing Mr Raja to swindle uninterrupted, the fact that his own government has now faulted Mr Chidambaram allows for a more incisive attack. The BJP was quick to seize the moment - it said Mr Chidambaram should resign. “The first thing the Prime Minister should do is to order a CBI investigation into the role of the then Finance Minister, and the present Home Minister, Mr Chidambaram, in the entire 2G spectrum scandal,” said the BJP’s Ravishankar Prasad.
Mr Chidambaram is completely in the dock. We have been saying since Day One that if Mr Chidambaram had over-ruled Mr Raja, things would have been different.” The note from Mr Mukherjee’s team suggests that even after the licenses were allocated in January 2008 at a cost of 1600 crores each to companies, the guidelines allowed the government- via the Finance Ministry - four months to cancel the deals.
The document was prepared by the Deputy Director, Economic Affairs on March 25, 2011. Notings establish that before it was sent to Dr Singh’s office, it was shown to Mr Mukherjee, implying that he endorsed its conclusions.
Mr Raja, who is now in jail, has repeatedly said that he had keep both the Prime Minister and Mr Chidambaram in the loop about his decisions on 2G spectrum. Mr Chidambaram has maintained that he tried to persuade Mr Raja on multiple occasions to opt for an auction. On January 15, five days after Mr Raja signed off on the licenses Mr Chidambaram also wrote to the PM opposing the trade of spectrum.
The note against Mr Chidambaram was produced in court today by Subramanium Swamy, who is one of the main petitioners in the case on the telecom scam that is being heard by the Supreme Court. Mr Swamy has been demanding that Mr Chidambaram be charged in the CBI’s case. “He (Chidambram) definitely had a role and the Prime Minister must explain it,” said the Left’s D Raja today, when asked to comment about Mr Chidambaram in the light of the Finance Ministry’s note.
The distrust between Mr Mukherjee and Mr Chidambaram was on public display a few months ago when it emerged that the Finance Minister had written to the PM, warning him of a possible security breach in the Finance Ministry. In September last year, Mr Mukherjee said that offices in his ministry may have been bugged and that “planted adhesives” had been found. The fact that Mr Mukherjee did not report the matter to the Home Minister was used by the Opposition as an illustration of the “trust deficit” between senior members of the government. Mr Mukherjee later said that the adhesives were most likely chewing gum, and that no evidence of espionage had emerged.
