CBI won’t probe Chidambaram’s 2G role

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A sharp conflict emerged between the Centre and CBI in the Supreme Court on investigating the alleged role of home minister P. Chidambaram in the 2G scam as finance minister in UPA-I with the government stating that trial court could order the probe if required but the agency emphatically objecting to it saying the issue had been considered during probe against former communications minister A. Raja and the issue need not be reopened.

There was a virtual clash between CBI counsel K.K. Venugopal and Centre’s lawyer P.P. Rao on the question whether the trial court could order further probe in the matter with regard to Chidambaram’s role with the agency lawyer saying “nobody can put in our (CBI) mouth what we should do.”

Venugopal told a bench of justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly that 15 documents placed before the apex court as well as trial judge by petitioner Subramanian Swamy was part of voluminous papers seized by the CBI after registration of FIR in 2009 and the March 25 note of finance ministry to the PMO, placed on record now was nothing but a chronology of the same documents, examined by the agency.

“We have considered all these documents... CBI is an autonomous and independent agency... nobody can make a statement on behalf of us,” Venugopal said, interjecting while Centre’s counsel made a submission that the Supreme Court could not order the probe.

2G scam: Reconciliation winds blow

* Former telecom minister A. Raja’s lawyer Sushil Kumar told the court that home minister P. Chidambaram was a party to all decisions taken. He, however, clarified that he was not making an attempt to present him as an accused.

* CBI sources said that the controversial note did not reveal anything new but simply stated the sequence of events already known.

* The JPC has decided to summon finance secretary R.S. Gujral on October 13 for an explanation into the finance ministry’s alleged bid to suppress facts by not submitting the controversial note.

* BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman has demanded that Manmohan Singh remove Chidambaram from the Cabinet without waiting for the probe.