Even as communication and IT minister A. Raja on Friday denied the charges against him in the 2G spectrum controversy, the Comptroller and Auditor General (GAG) is learnt to have said that the minister, “for no valid reasons” ignored the advice of law and finance ministries and allocated the spectrum at “less than its value, on flexible procedures adopted to benefit a few operators”.
The report, submitted to President Pratibha Patil Wednesday, has been sent to the finance ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office. It will be tabled in parliament later. Mr Raja, who has refused to resign despite mounting demands from the opposition, said he was yet to receive a copy of the CAG report. “I cannot comment on the facts put up by the media,” he said.
The minister said he would not comment further as the matter was subjudice.
Normal business in both houses of parliament was stalled Wednesday and Thursday as agitated opposition members disrupted the proceedings demanding the resignation of Mr Raja over the spectrum controversy alleging that the state had lost “lakhs of crores” in the deal. The CAG report, which was accessed by IANS, said “the entire process of spectrum allocation was undertaken in an arbitrary manner”. “The Prime Minister had stressed on the need for a fair and transparent allocation of spectrum, and the ministry of finance, and the ministry of law and justice had sought for the decision regarding spectrum pricing to be considered by an EGOM,” it said. —IANS