New Delhi, May 07: The UPA government came under intense pressure on A. Raja’s ‘ telecom tapes’ after MAIL TODAY ran the transcripts on Thursday and Headlines Today played them on Wednesday.
Waving copies of MAIL TODAY in the Rajya Sabha, AIADMK members demanded Raja’s dismissal from the Cabinet. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for 10 minutes during question hour as AIADMK leader Dr V. Maitreyan insisted that the Prime Minister, who was present in the House, respond to the notices given by his party on the issue.
The AIADMK had given notice to suspend the question hour and discuss the spectrum scam issue in the Upper House. When the ruckus continued, Chairman Hamid Ansari suspended the House for 10 minutes.
Raising the matter during zero hour in the Lok Sabha, AIADMK leader M. Thambidurai demanded a joint parliamentary committee to probe the scam. He also said Raja should be kept out of the Cabinet pending investigation.
Thambidurai alleged that during 2007- 08 the government lost Rs 1 lakh crore on Spectrum 2G because of the questionable policies of the ministry. He said even the CAG had talked about a loss of Rs 26,000 crore.
The minister himself remained defiant. He demanded evidence of the recording of his telephone conversations with corporate powerbroker Nira Radia, currently being probed by the income tax department and the CBI. “ Where is my voice,” Raja asked Headlines Today . Soon after the minister demanded evidence of his voice, Headlines Today ran the government authorised phone recordings under a package titled, ‘ It is your voice, Mr Raja’.
The recordings clearly show Raja soliciting Radia’s help in ensuring the plum telecom ministry portfolio for himself. The recordings also reveal the role of Kanimozhi, Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi’s daughter, being a facilitator along with Radia in getting Raja the telecom job.
All these conversations form part of over 50 hours of recording of calls made to and from Radia’s phone over a period of 300 days.
The AIADMK’s demands were echoed by other Opposition parties.
The Left and the BJP, in addition to demanding the minister’s resignation, also blamed the Prime Minister and demanded that he reveal the role lobbyists played in the formation of his Cabinet.
BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “ This is a charge that needs to be addressed not by the person concerned but the PM, who is the appointing authority.
So, the PMO is suspect in the entire issue.” The CPM’s Brinda Karat has demanded a thorough probe into the activities of Raja. She said, “ The breach of propriety is definitely a serious breach but it is still the least of the breaches which has taken place in the 2G spectrum. Therefore, the only course open for the minister is to step down.” But, the government and the Congress party have adopted an ostrich- like approach. Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed, while trying to dodge the issue, said, “ I haven’t seen the tapes.
We cannot vouch for the authenticity of the tapes. Without seeing, we cannot comment.” Even Radia’s company, Vaishnavi Communications, has denied the existence of any recorded conversation between her and Raja.
Vaishnavi’s spokesman Manoj Warrier issued a statement to Headlines Today saying: “ Your channel has broadcast a report this evening, containing parts of fabricated taped conversations attributed to our chairperson. You have carried this report with the sole and specific intent of maligning the reputation of our chairperson, our company and its client firm, which is the most highly and widely respected corporate house in the country…. We demand immediate withdrawal of the malicious report — in particular, all references to our chairperson.
” However, it’s clear that the government, the DMK and Radia herself will not be able to hide behind the fig leaf of denial for too long. The Opposition has found a big stick to beat the UPA government with and is likely to keep up the pressure.
—Agencies