New Delhi, April 05: After quizzing industrialist Ratan Tata and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia on Monday, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will on Tuesday question Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani in connection with alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation. The PAC has also asked Eti salat DB Telecom CEO Atul Jhamb, S-Tel CEO Shamik Das and Unitech Wireless Managing Director Sigve Brekke to appear before it.
On Monday, PAC is understood to have asked Ratan Tata the reasons for Tata Teleservices’ interest in launching GSM mobile services when it was already a key player in the CDMA technology for such services. One of the questions put to him was regarding the Group’s dealing with journalists and whether it was a practice to make payments to them for publishing favourable news reports.
The panel, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, is understood to have sought clarifications from Radia on the tapped conversations which include allegations of trying to influence portfolio allocation to ministers in the UPA-II government.
Radia, chairperson of Vaishnavi Corporate Communications, appeared before the PAC alongwith two senior colleagues Manoj Warrier and Yateesh Wahaal.
According to reports, PAC found corporate lobbyist Niira Radia “evasive” and industrialist Ratan Tata “candid” when they appeared before it separately in connection with their respective roles in the allotment of 2G spectrum.
—Agencies