ISRO row intensifies, Nair fires fresh salvo

BANGALORE: The ISRO row has intensified with its former chief G Madhavan Nair writing to the PMO to order an enquiry into the reasons behind the annulment of the controversial Antrix-Devas deal and the procedure followed, in a fresh salvo at his successor K Radhakrishnan.

"I have addressed a detailed letter," Nair told PTI here. "They have made certain charges that I have put a least penalty clause (in the contract)... defence requirements were not met etc, etc... these points ... point by point I have explained to them".

He said he addressed the letter to the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, V Narayanasamy, mainly because he has been making statements based on official inputs. "So I thought he (Narayanasamy) should know there is something beyond official reports. That's the whole purpose (of writing letter to him).

The two-member committee of B K Chaturvedi and Roddam Narasimha reviewed the technical, commercial, procedural and financial aspects of the Antrix-Devas agreement and their report said concerns of cheap selling of spectrum to Devas have no basis whatsoever.

But a five-member high-level team, chaired by Pratyush Sinha, which examined the deal and identified acts of omission and commission by government officials, found "... not only serious administrative and procedural lapses but also suggestion of collusive behaviour on the part of certain individuals....".

The Sinha-panel concluded that the four former ISRO scientists, including Nair, were responsible for various acts of commissions.

Last month, on the basis on these two reports, Nair and the other three scientists were black-listed from holding any government assignments.

Nair at the time charged ISRO chairman Radhakrishnan, who is also Space Commission Chairman and Secretary in the Department of Space, with "witch-hunting" and "vendetta" and of misleading the government on the deal.