U-turn, former Telecom Minister - Raja denies implicating Manmohan, Chidambaram

Former Telecom Minister A Raja on Tuesday sought to make then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram a witness in 2G case, saying he was privy to matters relating to dilution of equities by Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless to foreign firms. 

“The then Finance Minister (Chidambaram) is bound to come in the court as a witness,” Mr. Raja’s counsel Sushil Kumar said while advancing arguments on framing of charges before Special CBI Judge O P Saini trying the 2G case. 

Mr. Raja said Mr. Chidambaram and even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were aware of offloading of shares to foreign firms – Dubai-based Etisalat and Norway-based Telenor -- by Swan Telecom and Unitech, alleged beneficiaries of the scam. 

In a U-turn, former Telecom Minister A Raja on Tuesday told a Delhi court that he did not seek to implicate Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the 2G case. “I did not seek to implicate the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister in 2G case,” senior advocate Sushil Kumar, counsel for Raja, told Special CBI Judge O.P. Saini. 

The DMK leader squarely blamed the media for his alleged accusations against the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister, saying “they (media) cannot put words in my mouth. Ask them to report truthfully or go out of the court room.” 

Mr. Raja had said that when Mr. Chidambaram was the Finance Minister he had told the Prime Minister that dilution of shares by the accused licencees to attract FDI did not amount to sale of license.

Arguing that dilution of shares was not sale of licence, Mr. Kumar said Mr. Raja cannot be accused of corruption in the controversial 2G spectrum allocation. 

“The matter (about sale of equity by spectrum licencees) was discussed between the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister (P Chidambaram). 

“The then Finance Minister, who is now Home Minister, had said in front of the Prime Minister that dilution of shares does not amount to sale of 2G lenience as per the corporate law,” Sushil had asserted, adding, “Let the Prime Minister deny this.”