2G Scam: JPC summons Raja, Behura


Former Telecom Minister A Raja and ex-Telecom Minister Siddharth Behura will be summoned to overthrow before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the 2G scam.

JPC Chairman P.C. Chacko told the reporters that they have decided to call Raja and Behura. Though the date for Raja's hearing is not yet decided, Behura will be summoned on April 11.

Since Mor. Behura is jailed in the Tihar jail, the panel will write to the jail authorities to present the Former Telecom Secretary before it.

The JPC had earlier written to the prison authorities and seeked their permission to present Mr. Behura before it for which the CBI court had granted permission in July last year.

But he was never actually summoned by the panel.

Sources said that the JPC decided to summon Raja as it wanted to find out the alleged illegality committed by the former Telecom Minister.

A member said that some officials who appeared before the committee have agreed that Raja followed the DoT and officials in deciding on the first-come-first served policy. Therefore it is necessary to find out the illegality committed by him.

The Committee today grilled the former Telecom Secretary D.S. Mathur who held the position between July 2006 and February 2007.

Mr. Mathur is believed to have told the committee that Mr. Raja followed the advice of DoT and its officials on several issues.

He is also learnt to have said that he had opposed some of the decisions of Mr. Raja, but agreed that he had not registered his dissent on record.

Mr. Mathur was examined as to whether there were any procedural irregularities by the Telecom Commission of which he was ex-officio chief as Telecom Secretary – in adopting the recommendations of telecom watchdog TRAI.

Mr. Mathur is believed to have told the members that the follow up action by the Telecom Ministry had led to issuance of 2G licences.

News reported by AR for News Vision online news paper 


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