Category Archives: 2G Scam Corruption

TRAI, DOT and TERM- all shut eyes against violation of rules by private companies?

11 Monday May 2015

Posted by in 2G Scam Corruption, Corruption, General, Telecom

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The report of the CAG on Telecom bring out so many facts. The private companies like Reliance, Airtel etc. are brazenly violating the rules on spectrum licence, roaming and on many other counts, resulting in thousands of crores of rupees to the government. In addition, the security concerns of the country are violated.

Despite all these being brought to the notice of the DOT and TERM, no action is taken against these private companies. 2 G scam is known to all, resulting in loss of about 1.72 lakh crore. It seems that whichever ministry comes, the private companies are capable of continuing their violation of rules to maximise their profit and escape unscathed.

Communications Minister should take strong action in these cases.

Homage to Com. S.K.Vyas, Condolence meeting in Delhi

17 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by in 2G Scam Corruption, AIBDPA - BSNL DOT Pensioners, BSNL - Better Service to the Nation

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SK VyasA Condolence meeting was held at Income Tax office premises, New Delhi, today, 17th February 2015, to pay homage to the legendary leader Com.S.K.Vyas, former Convener, Confederation of CG Employees and Workers as also the Secretary General of pension associations, BCPC and NCCPA, who passed away on 13th of this month. A good number of workers and leaders were present.

Com.K.K.N.Kutty, Chairman, Confederation presided and V.Bhattacharjee, Convener, Delhi unit of Confederation welcomed all. A condolence resolution was adopted by the house and all paid homage to Com.S.K.Vyas by standing in silence for one minute.

Comrades M.S.Raja, Giriraj Singh, M.Krishnan, Seetha Laxmi and many other leaders of the Central Govt. Employees movement spoke. Com. V.A.N.Namboodiri, Dy. SG, BCPC and also Advisor  of AIBDPA and Patron BSNLEU paid homage to Com. SK Vyas and mentioned about the glorious contribution of the veteran leader.

Publish the List of Black Money Accounts, Mr. Jaitley!

27 Thursday Nov 2014

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The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has stated in the Parliament that it has tracked down 427 foreign accounts in HSBC in  Geneva and that 250 account holders out of them have admitted that they have accounts. Well!

What is the need of keeping these account holders name secret? Is it to give time to them to withdraw the amount and put it in some other foreign banks? Or is it to give them time to shift themselves to other countries so that they can escape?

As Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley should immediately publish the name of the holders of black money accounts and expose them before the public. These are not ordinary or common people, but who have made illegal money. Bring them to  justice!

Aggressive Bid for Spectrum – Till now bids for Rs,42,000 crore

03 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by in 2G Scam Corruption, Telecom

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The spectrum auction today saw aggressive bidding by the telecom operators. After 7 rounds of bidding, the government has already ensured about Rs. 42,000 crore. There are still more circles for which the auction is to take place.
The bids have reached more than 44% of the bid price as per reports received.
Those who criticised CAG for calculating the loss in 2G auction at 1.76 lakh crore can think again. Spectrum is costly, very costly.

Sitaram Yechury writes to JPC Chairman

29 Sunday Sep 2013

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New Delhi, Sep 26 Ahead of a crucial meeting of JPC on 2G scam, senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury has submitted a dissent note to its Chairman P C Chacko, alleging the panel has failed to live up to its mandate by not quizzing the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on the issue.

Claiming that the report of Joint Parliamentary Committee was prepared without consultations with its members, Yechury, one of the 30 JPC members, strongly objected to the “failure” of the panel to call all material witnesses, including the Prime Minister, and relying solely on the written submissions of former Telecom Minister A Raja.

Noting that even Raja was not provided an opportunity to provide oral evidence or face cross-examination by JPC, Yechury said in the 32-page note that the report has made “selective” use of the evidence.

He said several crucial questions, which were to have been replied by the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, had remained unanswered as both were not called by JPC.

In a covering letter to his note, the CPI(M) leader said JPC had In a covering letter to his note, the CPI(M) leader said JPC had “failed” to adequately discharge the mandate given to it by Parliament.

In his dissent note, Yechury is believed to have written about the alleged roles played by the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Minister of Communication and IT in the scam.

Apart from raising procedural irregularities in JPC’s functioning, he is believed to have raised issues relating to undervaluation of Universal Access Service (UAS) licenses allocated in 2006-08, presumptive losses on account of allocation of these licenses and spectrum in 2007-08, “failure” to appropriately deal with TRAI recommendations and to examine the issue of licences to the private firms.

JPC – Questions to PM by Sitaram Yechury

28 Sunday Apr 2013

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Questions to the PM

Friday, April 26, 2013

April 26, 2013

Press Release

The following note has been sent by Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G Spectrum scam to other members of the JPC explaining why a conclusive report of the JPC cannot be prepared unless the following questions are answered by the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.

************* Dear Hon’ble Colleague,

The Need for Answers from the Hon’ble Prime Minister on Certain Questions before the JPC

The Draft Report prepared by the Chairman of the JPC, Shri P.C. Chacko states in Section 10.45 the following: In view of the above, the Committee are inclined to conclude that  the Prime Minister was  misled about the procedure decided to be followed by the Department of Telecommunications in respect of issuance of UAS licences.   Further, the assurance given by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology in all his correspondence with the Prime Minister to maintain full transparency in following  established rules and procedures of the Department stood belied.

Shri A.Raja in his letter to Shri Chacko has stated that he had kept the Hon’ble PM informed at each step of the process and through personal meetings as well as during cabinet meetings. The Draft Report also shows that indeed he wrote 3 letters to the PM prior to the 10th January, 2008 when the LoI’s for the 120 licenses were issued. The Draft Report also states that the PM asked the PMO to prepare a Note on Shri Raja’s letter dated 26th November, 2008 wherein he details the various steps he was proposing to take.

Taking the above into account, it is not possible for JPC to come to any conclusion about the veracity of Shri Raja’s claim or the statement in the Draft Report that the PM was misled without the PM answering the following:

1. Is it true that Shri Raja had met him personally in the first week of January, 2008 as stated in his letter to brief the Hon’ble PM  about the procedure he was going to follow? In his submission, Shri Raja states, “Thereafter I met the Hon’ble PM in the first week of  January 2008 and this issue was again discussed and he agreed with  the proposed course of action of the DoT.” 2. If this meeting did take place, did the Hon’ble PM agree with Shri Raja on the proposed course of action as Shri Raja claims? 3. On what specific count can we hold that Shri Raja misled the Hon’ble PM? a) Is it about not auctioning/indexing license fees of 2001 for 2008? b) Is it about the change in First-come-first-served policy regarding grant of license by which the date of fulfilling LoI first was to be used for grant of licenses and not the date of application c) Is it about securing the consent of the Solicitor General to the procedure that was to be followed as stated by Shri Raja in his 26th November, 2008 letter? 4. On what count did Shri Raja not maintain transparency regarding procedures which Shri Raja was following in his communications with the Hon’ble PM as stated in the Draft Report 5. Even if the above is true – that Shri Raja misled the PM and did not maintain transparency as claimed by the Draft Report, the following issues still remain, which the Hon’ble PM needs to answer: a) Even after LoI’s were issued on 10th January, 2008, since the licenses had not been issued, the Government could have cancelled the LoI’s and followed a proper procedure. Why did the Hon’ble PM not take action  as he had himself asked that the Note prepared by Pulok Chatterjee, Secretary PM, dated 6th January, 2008 be modified to take into account the status after issuing of the LoI’s? b) The Hon’ble PM in October 29, 2011 had stated – in his meeting with TV editors – that the Finance Ministry and the DoT had agreed on keeping 2001 prices for entry and spectrum fees for 2008. Was this agreement between Finance Ministry and DOT reached before 10th January, 2008 or afterwards? c) On what basis did the Hon’ble PM drop the suggestion for auctioning of the licenses he himself had made to Shri Raja in his letter dated 2nd November, 2008? Keeping in mind the high office he occupies, the Hon’ble PM can give answers to the JPC orally or in writing. Without answers from the Hon’ble PM on the above, it is difficult to understand how the JPC can come to any conclusion regarding the Hon’ble PM being misled by Shri Raja. The Need for Answers from the Hon’ble Finance Minister on Certain Questions before the JPC The Draft Report prepared by Shri P.C. Chacko has made a number of observations regarding the Finance Ministry, and therefore of the Finance Minister’s handling of the 2G license issues.   It is not possible for JPC to come to any conclusion about the role of the Hon’ble Finance Minister without answers to the following questions. Specifically, the Draft Report mentions in Section 10.43 the following: The Ministry of Finance have informed the Committee that no communication was sent  by the Department of Economic Affairs in response to the letter dated 29 November, 2007 from the Department of Telecommunications. From the sequence of events, the Committee gather the impression that the Ministry of Finance was in agreement  with the position  explained by  the Department of Telecommunications in respect of cross-over fee  charged for  allowing  usage of Dual Spectrum Technology by the existing licensees. Does the Finance Minister agree with the Draft Report that by not responding to the position as explained by DoT regarding license fees, the Ministry of Finance had in effect given its consent? Why did the Finance Ministry not press the issue of entry and spectrum fee being pegged to 2001 prices in 2008, especially as the DoT had referred to the Cabinet note where it was mandatory to have such an agreement between the Finance Ministry and the DoT as per Section 2.1.2 (3)? As a formal consent is required from the Finance Ministry to fixing of license fees, did the Finance Ministry give such a consent? Shri A. Raja is his letter to Shri Chacko has also stated that his actions regarding license fees was with the concurrence of the Finance Ministry and the Finance Minister, whom he had met during the first week of January, 2008. Is it true that such a meeting took place and if so, is it correct that the Hon’ble FM had given his consent to license fee being kept at the 2001 level for the 2008 issuing of licenses? Why did the Hon’ble FM agree – as can be seen from his note to the PM on 15th January, 2008 – to treat the matter of entry and spectrum fees for LoI’s issued on 10th January, 2008 as a closed matter? Why did the Hon’ble agree on 30th January, 2008 in his meeting with Shri A. Raja to treat the entry and spectrum fees for LoI’s issued on 10th January, 2008 as a closed matter? As one of the most eminent lawyers of the country, the Hon’ble FM was undoubtedly aware that LoI’s could be cancelled before the formal grant of licenses and therefore his consent was essential for the entry and spectrum fees being kept at 2001 levels in 2008? Why did the Hon’ble FM not push for the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rule-4, which makes such concurrence mandatory regardless of the Cabinet note? Why did the Hon’ble  Finance Minister not push for the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rule-7, which specifies in the second schedule that in cases which involves financial implications on which the Finance Minister desires a decision of the Cabinet and if a difference of opinion arises between two or more ministries and a Cabinet decision is desired, the matter shall be brought before the Cabinet? Keeping in mind the high office he occupies, the Hon’ble FM can give answers to the JPC orally or in writing. Without answers from the Hon’ble FM on the above, it is difficult to understand how the JPC can come to any conclusion regarding the role of the Finance Ministry or the Hon’ble FM.

Leaked JPC report on 2G – Strong protest by opposition

20 Saturday Apr 2013

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The leaked report of the Joint Parliament Committee on 2G spectrum scam has put the government in a tight spot. The entire opposition has protested against the draft report which has omitted many evidences, ignored documents and did not call the former Communications Minister and the Prime Minster to give evidence. In fact, former Minister Raja against whom charges are levelled wanted to give evidence but was not called by the JPC.

The report is politically motivated and is intended to save the Prime Minister of his role. The opposition parties are  going to sharply react and protest in the Parliament which is going to resume on Monday, 22nd of April.

2G Scam – Inquire PM Role – CPI(M)

18 Monday Mar 2013

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New Delhi, Mar 18  The CPI(M) today sought an CBI investigation into the role of Prime Minister’s Office in 2G telecom scam, saying he cannot absolve himself of his responsibility in the matter. In a statement, the party Politburo also demanded that the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the spectrum allocation case should summon “both the Prime Minister and (former Telecom Minister) A Raja to testify”. Referring to the “fresh evidence” appearing in the media about the PMO’s role, it said the report on the file notings and documents of the PMO “reveals the complicity of the PMO in the illegal and arbitrary policies adopted by the then Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum allocations”. Maintaining that it was “surprising that the CBI has not investigated this aspect” of the 2G case, the CPI(M) said, “The Prime Minister’s related efforts at distancing himself from the affair have also been exposed. The Prime Minister cannot absolve himself of his responsibility in the matter.” The party demanded that the role of the PMO should be “specifically enquired into by the CBI” and the JPC should summon both the Prime Minister and A Raja to testify.

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CBI files charge against Bharti Airtel for irregularities

21 Friday Dec 2012

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed charges against India’s top mobile phone carrier, Bharti Airtel, as part of a broader case involving alleged irregularities in airwave allocations.

Two Vodafone-owned companies—Hutchison Max and Sterling Cellular—and former Telecom Secretary CBI Shyamal Ghosh have also been accused of criminal conspiracy and face charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mr Ghosh has been charged with misusing his office to confer additional spectrum in sweetheart deals to telecom giants. The CBI says the country lost nearly Rs. 846 crore as a result.

The charge sheet filed in a Delhi court today does not mention any executives.

A Bharti spokesman said he had no immediate comment, while a Vodafone India spokesman declined to comment.

Bharti has previously said it had complied with all rules. Bharti shares were down 2.2 per cent as of 1.56 p.m., underperforming the 0.8 per cent decline in the broader Nifty.

The CBI probe concerns alleged irregularities in allotting mobile spectrum in 2002 during the NDA government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At the time, Pramod Mahajan, now deceased, was Telecom Minister.

The investigation follows a scandal over airwave allocations in 2008 by then Telecom Minister A Raja, who was jailed for allegedly accepting kickbacks in return for assigning under-priced licenses to mobile phone operators for second-generation or 2G airwaves. The 2G scam, as it’s referred to, shook Dr Manmohan Singh’s government after the national auditor said it was worth Rs. 1.76 lakh crore.

While monitoring the investigations into the 2G scam, the Supreme Court had asked the CBI to investigate any possible irregularities in the granting of mobile permits from 2001 to 2007, before the Congress-led UPA coalition came to power. (Report from Ganashakti)

Will there be another spectrum auction ?

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

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The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Telecom is expected to meet today, 28th November. It is also reported that the meeting may consider the question of another auction for the spectrum in the new year.

It seems that the last auction of spectrum was a well planned drama by the government and the private telecom companies. The Supreme Court had given directions for all the available spectrum to be auctioned. Then why the government has put to auction only a small portion of the spectrum?  As the Supreme court has questioned yesterday, why all the spectrum was not auctioned? It is clear that all the private companies have organised a cartel to ensure that the auction is failed.

The government’s intentions are really suspect. It has to explain.