BJP dismisses Sibal's charge, says he is covering up 2G scam

NEW DELHI: Dismissing Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal's charge that the NDA government lost Rs 1.43 lakh crore in revenue because of its policies, BJP on Wednesday said the minister was "defending the indefensible" in the 2G spectrum scam.

"It is a worst kind of cover up," BJP spokesman Prakash Javdekar said reacting to Sibal's claim.

Sibal had yesterday claimed that the government "actually" lost Rs 1.43 lakh crore in revenue in 1999 due to the then BJP-led NDA regime shifting to revenue share system from fixed licence fee for telecom operations.

Javdekar said NDA government's "pragmatic policies" and revenue sharing model "unleashed a revolution" in the telecom sector and "it did not allow the sector to die."

It is evident from the "teledensity" in the country today, he said.

Criticising the minister for comparing it to the present telecom policy, he said, "You are selling the spectrum in 2008 at the rate of 2001 and how you want to justify any how is all bad advocacy...what was right in 2001 will not be right in 2008."

Sibal's comment come at a time when the government auditor CAG has quantified a "presumptive" revenue loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore due to non-auction of 2G spectrum in 2008 by former Telecom Minister A Raja.