Congress high command to take note of Jayalalithaa’s offer: PM

ON BOARD AIR INDIA ONE - Commenting on the 2G spectrum scam surrounding Information Technology and Communication Minister A. Raja, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said it would not be proper to comment on the issue when Parliament is in session, and added that it is for the Congress high command to take note of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J Jayalalithaa’s offer.

On Wednesday, Jayalalithaa had said that if the Congress sacks Raja, she is ready to offer her support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition.

Raja, according to the AIADMK chief, has committed the mother of all scams, and therefore, he needs to be dismissed.

The Prime Minister, who returned to India from the G-20 summit in South Korea, late night on Friday told reporters on board Air India One: “Parliament is in session. It is not proper for me to comment on a subject which is also probably in the court.”

“This is a subject I am hearing for the first time. It is for the Congress high command to take note of it. I don’t know what Dr Jayalalithaa has offered,” he added.

Dr Singh, however, said: “We are in alliance with DMK and that alliance stands as of now.”

Union Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily also came out in Raja’s defence on Friday, saying the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the Spectrum allocation cannot be termed as an ‘indictment’.

“The matter is before the Supreme Court. The CAG findings are not final. The Telecom Ministry will be given the opportunity to answer the question raised by CAG…till that is done, you cannot say that CAG findings are final and there is conclusive evidence,” said Veerappa Moily.

The Law Minister further said the CAG had raised similar queries when Pramod Mahajan was the Communications Minister in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government.

The 2G spectrum allocations caused an alleged loss of Rs1.76 lakh crore to the Government, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has stated in a damning report.

The report further states that Raja had no apparent logical or valid reasons to ignore the advice of the Law and Finance Ministries while allocating telecom spectrum to several firms in 2007-08.

The report is likely to be tabled in Parliament within ten days. (ANI)