Mr.Dayanidhi Maran real culprit, Raja accused wrongly: Dr. Arun  Shourie

NEW DELHI, 25th Feb: Former telecom minister Mr Arun Shourie was today questioned by the CBI during which he alleged that his successor Mr Dayanidhi Maran had tweaked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) guidelines in 2005 to benefit some operators.

Emerging after a three-hour-long question session, Mr Shourie told reporters that he had cited several instances to the investigating officers of alleged irregularities during Mr Maran's tenure before Mr A Raja took over as telecom minister in 2007. “Maran was the minister. What is Raja being accused of? Giving these 122 licenses without spectrum, when there is no spectrum with the government. But it was in Maran's time that one sentence was put into the guidelines that there shall be no cap on the number of operators in a circle,” he said.

Mr Shourie said such a change could only come as a Trai recommendation. “This (change) comes in the guidelines of 2005 whereas the Trai did not recommend it till 2007. So by what horoscope under Maran was it decided that yes, we can anticipate this recommendation before two years and start. That is how some operations were planned that could not go through and Raja acted on them,” he said. He also advised Raja to turn approver for the agency and spill the beans about the beneficiaries of this scam. 

The former telecom minister was questioned along with the then department of telecom secretary, Mr Vinod Vaish. He said he had requested the presence of Mr Vaish and some other officials because of their technical knowledge about the issue. 

“I told the investigators what were the circumstances and how individual decisions (regarding spectrum allocation) were taken that time (during his tenure) and that there was not (the) slightest departure from Trai recommendations. There was not (the) slightest departure from the Cabinet decisions,” Mr Shourie said.

Handing over a 50-page note prepared by him on various issues relating to 2G spectrum allocation policy appearing in the media, Mr Shourie said he informed the CBI that Trai did not do anything “surreptitiously” during his tenure and all the decisions were taken after open consultations. 

Mr Shourie said he feels that CBI should concentrate on where the money was exchanged rather than procedures because they are mere circumstantial evidence of any changes being made in them to benefit some parties. “I pointed out to them the things which were to happen in accordance with Cabinet decisions never happened neither during Maran’s term and certainly not under Raja. And they never went back to the Cabinet for changing the decision. That is the telling point. Real issue is money was exchanged,” he said.

On the issue of the Prime Minister's statement that law ministry, finance ministry and telecom ministry were working in synergy over spectrum pricing, he refused to give direct reply, but said the then law minister Mr HR Bhardwaj wanted the matter to be referred to the group of ministers but Mr Raja managed to get the terms of reference of GoM changed. 

Mr Shourie had held the telecom portfolio between January 2003 and May 2004 in the NDA regime. 

Loop, Tata officials

The chief executive officer of Loop Telecom, Mr Sandip Basu and former CEO of Tata Teleservices Ltd Anil Sardana were today questioned by CBI in connection with its probe in the 2G spectrum allocation scam. CBI sources said the duo were asked to clarify deals struck by their respective organisations with the government to get telecom technology licenses and stakes in other telecom companies which have actually got licenses on their names. Besides, both were also quizzed by the CBI in connection with their firms' alleged linkages with Unitech, one of the two companies which have been mentioned in the FIR filed by the agency on 21 October, 2009, they said.

Separately, a Delhi court today dismissed the bail plea of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa and personal secretary of former Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation scam,