CBI refuses to probe role of Chidambaram in 2G scam
Former Telecom Minister A Raja's lawyer made a u-turn in the case saying that questioning Chidambaram will delay the case.
By Agencies | Updated:
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday flatly refused to probe the role of Home Minsiter P Chidambaram in the 2G spectrum allocation scam. CBI said that it is an independent body and no one can give undertaking.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja's lawyer made a u-turn in the case saying that questioning Chidambaram will delay the case.
Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy had filed a petition demanding probe of Chidambaram's role in the scam.
Raja on Monday told a Delhi court that then Finance Minister P Chidambaram should be summoned and examined as a witness to prove the minutes of a Cabinet meeting that cleared the off-loading of shares by Swan Telecom and Unitech to two foreign firms.
The issue of dilution of shares by these two Indian companies were discussed in the meeting in the presence of Chidambaram and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said.
A controversy erupted on the 2G spectrum scam over a note sent by the Finance Ministry to the Prime Minister's Office.
The March 25 note to the PMO from the finance ministry says that the airwaves could have been auctioned in 2008 if Chidambaram, who was then the finance minister, had "stuck to his stand".
The note added: "It may be mentioned that while the UAS licenses were signed between February 27 and March 7, 2008, spectrum allocations were done starting only in April, 2008, almost four months after the LoIs were issued. However, these were not charged (beyond the normal spectrum usage charges) since there was consensus, at the levels of the Ministers concerned, that spectrum beyond the "start up" levels only should be charged."
The note came into the public domain under the Right to Information (RTI) Act petition filed by Vivek Garg, a prominent activist.
The telecom scam, one of India's biggest graft cases ever, may have cost $39.57 billion in revenue to the public exchequer as per the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Former Telecom Minister A Raja's lawyer made a u-turn in the case saying that questioning Chidambaram will delay the case.
Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy had filed a petition demanding probe of Chidambaram's role in the scam.
Raja on Monday told a Delhi court that then Finance Minister P Chidambaram should be summoned and examined as a witness to prove the minutes of a Cabinet meeting that cleared the off-loading of shares by Swan Telecom and Unitech to two foreign firms.
The issue of dilution of shares by these two Indian companies were discussed in the meeting in the presence of Chidambaram and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said.
A controversy erupted on the 2G spectrum scam over a note sent by the Finance Ministry to the Prime Minister's Office.
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The March 25 note to the PMO from the finance ministry says that the airwaves could have been auctioned in 2008 if Chidambaram, who was then the finance minister, had "stuck to his stand".
The note added: "It may be mentioned that while the UAS licenses were signed between February 27 and March 7, 2008, spectrum allocations were done starting only in April, 2008, almost four months after the LoIs were issued. However, these were not charged (beyond the normal spectrum usage charges) since there was consensus, at the levels of the Ministers concerned, that spectrum beyond the "start up" levels only should be charged."
The note came into the public domain under the Right to Information (RTI) Act petition filed by Vivek Garg, a prominent activist.
The telecom scam, one of India's biggest graft cases ever, may have cost $39.57 billion in revenue to the public exchequer as per the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
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