New Delhi: BJP on Saturday dismissed government's
contention that P Chidambaram as Finance Minister had no hand
in the 2G scam and demanded that his role be properly
investigated in the case.
"What the BJP is demanding is determining Chidambaram's
role as then Finance Minister in the spectrum scam," BJP
spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Criticising government's move to come out in strong
defence of the Home Minister, Prasad said, "It is surprising
that after ...Pranab Mukherjee, now it is the turn of Kapil
Sibal to appease a sulking Chidambaram."
He said, "What was the sudden need to defend Chidambaram
by Kapil Sibal. Are these statements of appeasement designed
to defend a sulking colleague."
Prasad charged that Chidambaram "did not take appropriate
steps to ensure auction of spectrum in an honest and
transparent manner."
While "over-ruling the objections of senior officers that
there should be a transparent mechanism, he (Chidambaram)
insisted that spectrum for 2G in 2007 be allocated at 2001
prices, inspite of a phenomenal rise in tele-density in the
country," he alleged.
The BJP leader insisted this was "confirmed" by the
Finance Ministry's note earlier, which was also whetted by the
Prime Minister's Office. He claimed the March 25 note of the
Finance Ministry had "condemned" Chidambaram's role as the
then Finance Minister in spectrum pricing.
"We want to ask Sibal and his colleagues in the
government whether it is true that senior officials of the
Finance Ministry, one of whom is now the RBI Governor had said
that spectrum pricing should be made through fair market
mechanism keeping in mind the tele-density," Prasad said.
Earlier in the day, Sibal at a press conference attacked
the BJP-led NDA of attempting to "foist" culpability on
Chidambaram in the 2G scam, saying it was a desperate attempt
to make Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.
He also rejected all allegations against Chidambaram, who
was Finance Minister at the time of spectrum allocation, and
alleged that elements in the NDA were trying to malign and
defame him.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 10, 2011, 18:43