2G issue in Parliament and Supreme Court

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to table the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the 2G spectrum allocation in Parliament on Tuesday following a demand from the Opposition parties.

The CAG report indicted former Telecom Minister A Raja on 2 G spectrum for causing a loss more than Rs. 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.

Raja quit office on Sunday succumbing to the pressure of the Congress party after the Opposition blamed the UPA Government, headed by Manmohan Singh.

The Opposition is also pressing for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe to unearth the scam, a demand rejected by the Government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies, the Left parties, AIADMK, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal are demanding that a JPC should examine the controversial issue after the CAG report said that allocation of 2G spectrum was made at under-valued price.

The Performance Audit Report on the Issue of Licences and Allocation of 2G Spectrum by the Department of Telecommunications will be tabled in the Lok Sabha by Mukherjee, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is also expected to decide on November 22 whether the PM’s nod is needed to prosecute Raja, who is also an DMK leader.

The apex court will hear two petitions against Raja on the 2G spectrum scam.

Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy sought the court’s intervention on grounds that his application before the PM seeking his sanction to prosecute Raja for corruption was pending for the past two years.

The petitioner told the court that there is no need for the PM’s nod since Raja has resigned as a minister.

The other petition has been filed by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan on the CAG report on licences issued to ineligible companies at 2001 prices.

During a hearing on Oct 29, the SC slammed the Central Bureau of Investigation for its “slipshod” investigations into the 2G Spectrum allocation issue and even wondered how Raja was continuing in office.

The Telecom Ministry had claimed that new licenses and 2G Spectrum was distributed as per the existing policy which were followed by all the predecessors of Raja.