BJP wants complete inquiry into Antrix-Devas deal

NEW DELHI: As the Government annulled the S-Band spectrum deal between ISRO's commercial arm Antrix and Devas Multimedia, BJP today sought to know the reasons for signing the agreement in the first place and as to why it took so long to scrap it.

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Seetharaman said the people of the country should clearly understand why it took several months for the government to scrap the deal despite Space Commission's recommendation to do so.

"Why wasn't the deal scrapped (then) when the Space Commission recommended for its scrapping. There should be a complete inquiry and people (concerned) should give nation the due answers," she said.

She was reacting to the decision by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to annul the deal on the basis of a recommendation from the Space Commission.

The annulment came in the wake of a raging controversy over the deal for handing over 70 Mhz of S-Band spectrum to the private firm for Rs 1,000 crore on which the CAG has already initiated action.

She said the BJP wanted to know why the deal was being terminated at a "critical stage" when it was to come into effect in a few months.

"We want to know what went wrong leading to the cancellation of the deal. We can accept the commissions and omissions in the governance of the country," she said.

She wanted to know whether the government was allowing foreign firms to have a "back-door entry" into the fields where private firms have not been allowed so far.

"The band of spectrum which was to be sold is being used by agencies like Coast Guard. It certainly raises issues of national security," she said.