Sibal blames NDA, BJP says move meant to rescue Raja

NEW DELHI: A blame game erupted on Friday between the government and the BJP over the 2G spectrum allocation. Within minutes of Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal bringing the NDA regime into the line of fire over the telecom policy, BJP hit back saying it was an attempt to bail out Raja.

BJP reaffirmed its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee ( JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum allocation, saying it can scrutinise the policy from 1998.

Sibal, who was summarising the report of Justice Shivraj Patil, which was appointed to look into procedures followed for spectrum allocation since 2001, said all decisions on the allocation of 2G spectrum starting from 2003 were incorrect.

"This whole attempt is designed to bail out Raja and the illegalities committed by him. NDA has nothing to hide. We have ourselves said let the JPC examine any allocation from 1998 itself," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.

He said the BJP will respond comprehensively after going through Justice Patil's report. Sibal said the first-come-first-served policy was introduced by the NDA regime and that it deviated from its own telecom policy cleared in 1999.

Claiming that NDA had "revolutionised" the telecom sector, Prasad said it was its policies that had made mobile telephones affordable to the poor. "The teledensity, which was 0.8%, grew in a phenomenal manner due to pro-consumer and pro-people policy executed in a fair manner," he claimed, defending NDA's actions in the telecom sector.

While BJP defended its regime, DMK chief M Karunanidhi said it was Raja who made mobile phones accessible to the poor.

NDA is sticking to its demand for a JPC probe on the ground that Raja's arrest and the revelations had vindicated its stand. "Our demand for JPC probe is not just regarding Raja but there are larger issues of governance involved in this, such as role of corporates. So our demand for a JPC stands," senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said.