Indian space scientists have left it to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a “political call” on dumping the contract for allotment of high-value and scarce airwaves to Devas Multimedia Ltd, but have also provided him “potent” particulars which could well send relations between the Congress and the DMK into a tailspin.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s top brass has briefed Dr Singh on the dubious role of a senior bureaucrat and a relative of the first family of Tamil Nadu in sparking a controversy over the Isro/Antrix-Devas contract and thus whipping up smear campaign against the leader himself as he holds the portfolio of space. It was his role that provoked the Opposition to demand the resignation of Dr Singh and in the process divert public attention away from the scam in allotment of 2G spectrum and the Raja episode.
That’s not all. Some of the classified documents which he had access to have made their way into the hands of politicians, leaving top technocrats in a fix on how
to deal with the situation.
Sources in Isro said the officer, who served it for about 18 months, nursed a grudge against the PMO and top technocrats for shifting him out of the space agency in the wake of complaints of corruption. “It was not just from suppliers and customers, but even from heads of many of our centres that we heard about his demands. Some even sent letters to Isro headquarters, which were forwarded to the PMO. It wasn’t easy dealing with him, so a request was made for posting him out,” the sources added.
Sources said the space commission has recommended cancellation of the contract with Devas Multimedia in view of widespread criticism and certainly not because of evidence of corruption. The contract was signed in January 2005 and approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2005, but came into contention in the wake of a letter from the communications ministry in November 2009 to cancel the contract following the emerging scam in allotment of 2G spectrum.
The first of two G-SAT satellites with S-band transponders meant for Devas Multimedia was in an advanced stage of fabrication and could be launched in two years, the sources added.