POST AN unceremonious exit by Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Commonwealth Games organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, it is presumed that the next in line to be axed might be telecommunications minister, A Raja.
A final report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has held 'Spectrum' Raja responsible on the fraudulent 2G spectrum allocation at dirt cheap rates that eventually resulted in a loss of up to Rs1.70 lakh crore to the national exchequer.
Other than Raja, the CAG report has also indicted the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The report says Raja ignored the advice of the finance ministry, the law ministry and the Telecom Commission while allocating the spectrum, which was carried out without any logical reasonings in an arbitrary manner.
The report mentions that the eligibility criteria was manipulated in such a manner that it could suit only a few operators for which it slammed TRAI for being a mute and a helpless spectator. It also indicted the Department of Telecommunications for flouting eligibility guidelines and said that of the 122 licences issued, 85 were illegal.
The CAG has backed up its stinging censure of Raja by attaching files which it claims establish the minister's personal culpability.
0 comments:
Post a Comment