- News>
- India
2G: `Chidambaram compromised national security`
A key witness on Saturday submitted before a court documentary evidence against Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam case.
Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: A key witness on Saturday submitted before a court documentary evidence against Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam case.
Special CBI Judge OP Saini, while accepting the documents for examination, adjourned the hearing in the case till January 21.
"Put up for arguments on the application for summoning of accused on January 21," judge Saini said after the petitioner placed on record various certified copies of the documents in support of his private complaint. The witness has pleaded before the court to make Chidambaram an accused in the 2G case as he had jointly taken the decision of spectrum prices with former telecom minister A Raja, the key accused in the case.
The petitioner told the court that the documents and evidence which he has furnished reveal the "connivance, collusion and consent" of then finance minister in the decision taken by Raja.
"This evidence reveals the connivance, collusion and consent of then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the decisions taken by the then Minister of Communication and Information Technology (MOC&IT) A Raja in the matter of fixing the price of spectrum licence and in the matter of permitting two companies which received the licences namely Swan and Unitech in dilution of shares even before roll out of their services," the petitioner said.
The petitioner filed various documents in the court, including a January 15, 2008 letter written by Chidambaram to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The petitioner also placed on record the certified copy of the minutes of a meeting between Chidambaram, Raja and the Prime Minister during the tenure of Raja as the MOC&IT.
The petitioner submitted that Chidambaram is "guilty of breach of trust of national security" as he did not disclose that Etisalat and Telenor, to which Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless had diluted their shares, were blacklisted. "I have also brought on record the evidence to show that Chidambaram, is also guilty of breach of trust in question of national security for not disclosing that Etisalat and Telenor were black listed by the Home Ministry advisory," he said.
Later, while speaking to reporters, the petitioner said the court has accepted the “evidence” and now hopes Chidambaram would be made a co-accused in the case based on the proof submitted.
Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister when the 2G scam took place.
Testifying as a witness in support of his private complaint seeking prosecution of Chidambaram, the petitioner had in December last year told the court that Raja could not be held guilty "alone" of the charges that he fixed the price of spectrum licence in 2008 at the prevailing rates of 2001.
"Raja could not be guilty of this (fixing the rate of spectrum charges at nominal price fixed in 2001) charge alone but he committed this offence with the active connivance of P Chidambaram," the petitioner told judge Saini.
He said that as per a 2003 Cabinet decision, Raja and Chidambaram were empowered to determine the spectrum price jointly.
The petitioner said that the Prime Minister, in his statement made on the floor of Rajya Sabha on February 24, 2011, had said that pricing of spectrum was taken on the basis of a Cabinet decision of 2003 which specifically said that the issue would be determined by the Ministry of Finance and Department of Telecommunication.
The court had on December 8 allowed the petitioner to testify himself in support of his private complaint seeking Chidambaram`s prosecution in the case.
The special judge had allowed petitioner’s plea, saying that in view of his knowledge of "fresh evidence" on the identity of other conspirators, he be allowed to depose again in the case.
It had said the petitioner "was not prevented in law" from bringing fresh evidence about the roles of "other conspirators" in the scam.
New Delhi: A key witness on Saturday submitted before a court documentary evidence against Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam case.
Special CBI Judge OP Saini, while accepting the documents for examination, adjourned the hearing in the case till January 21.
"Put up for arguments on the application for summoning of accused on January 21," judge Saini said after the petitioner placed on record various certified copies of the documents in support of his private complaint. The witness has pleaded before the court to make Chidambaram an accused in the 2G case as he had jointly taken the decision of spectrum prices with former telecom minister A Raja, the key accused in the case.
The petitioner told the court that the documents and evidence which he has furnished reveal the "connivance, collusion and consent" of then finance minister in the decision taken by Raja.
"This evidence reveals the connivance, collusion and consent of then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the decisions taken by the then Minister of Communication and Information Technology (MOC&IT) A Raja in the matter of fixing the price of spectrum licence and in the matter of permitting two companies which received the licences namely Swan and Unitech in dilution of shares even before roll out of their services," the petitioner said.
The petitioner filed various documents in the court, including a January 15, 2008 letter written by Chidambaram to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The petitioner also placed on record the certified copy of the minutes of a meeting between Chidambaram, Raja and the Prime Minister during the tenure of Raja as the MOC&IT.
The petitioner submitted that Chidambaram is "guilty of breach of trust of national security" as he did not disclose that Etisalat and Telenor, to which Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless had diluted their shares, were blacklisted. "I have also brought on record the evidence to show that Chidambaram, is also guilty of breach of trust in question of national security for not disclosing that Etisalat and Telenor were black listed by the Home Ministry advisory," he said.
Later, while speaking to reporters, the petitioner said the court has accepted the “evidence” and now hopes Chidambaram would be made a co-accused in the case based on the proof submitted.
Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister when the 2G scam took place.
Testifying as a witness in support of his private complaint seeking prosecution of Chidambaram, the petitioner had in December last year told the court that Raja could not be held guilty "alone" of the charges that he fixed the price of spectrum licence in 2008 at the prevailing rates of 2001.
"Raja could not be guilty of this (fixing the rate of spectrum charges at nominal price fixed in 2001) charge alone but he committed this offence with the active connivance of P Chidambaram," the petitioner told judge Saini.
He said that as per a 2003 Cabinet decision, Raja and Chidambaram were empowered to determine the spectrum price jointly.
The petitioner said that the Prime Minister, in his statement made on the floor of Rajya Sabha on February 24, 2011, had said that pricing of spectrum was taken on the basis of a Cabinet decision of 2003 which specifically said that the issue would be determined by the Ministry of Finance and Department of Telecommunication.
The court had on December 8 allowed the petitioner to testify himself in support of his private complaint seeking Chidambaram`s prosecution in the case.
The special judge had allowed petitioner’s plea, saying that in view of his knowledge of "fresh evidence" on the identity of other conspirators, he be allowed to depose again in the case.
It had said the petitioner "was not prevented in law" from bringing fresh evidence about the roles of "other conspirators" in the scam.