JOIN USPM's continued silence surprises BJP
Asking the prime minister to respond, the BJP wondered why Singh kept mum when an artificial cut off date of September 25, 2007, was created and all application for telecom licences submitted between September 25, 2007, and October 1, 2007, were summarily rejected. The BJP would like the prime minister to respond to some of the disturbing questions which has troubled the nation for more than two years, the party said.
“Mr Prime Minister, why did you keep quiet when the rules of game were changed after the game had begun”, asked Party’s national spokesman Ravishankar Prasad here at a press conference.
He also sought to know why the prime minister allowed the spectrum to be sold in the year 2007 at the 2001 price when tele-density in the country had increased by more than seven times.
He said former telecom minister A Raja flouted the prime minister’s suggestion for adopting a transparent mechanism of auction on November 2, 2007 and went ahead with the allocation of the spectrum on the first-come-first-served basis. Prasad alleged that the prime minister chose to look the other way and did not take any action.
‘Violation of norms’
“Why did not the prime minister call for the entire file himself and record his displeasure when such blatant violation of all norms were being done brazenly,” he asked.
He alleged that the prime minister did not break his silence when about 85 ineligible companies (as found by the CAG) were granted Letters of Intent and more surprisingly the companies which won the licences were permitted to trade in spectrum.
“The entire issue was debated extensively in Parliament in July 2009, yet a vague reply was given, though all the above facts and much of what the CAG has said today was brought to the notice of the government by the BJP”, he pointed out.
The nation is not going to believe the “besura raag Darbari” and the people would draw their own conclusions, the spokesman quipped.