Ex-TRAI chairman Pradip Baijal accuses Manmohan Singh of wrongdoing in 2G case
Baijal in his book has alleged that Singh had warned him of harm if he did not co-operate on 2G telecom licences and that the CBI wanted him to implicate Arun Shourie and Ratan Tata in the case.
Former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Pradip Baijal's explosive revelations on the 2G scam accusing ex-prime minister Manmohan Singh of wrongdoing has given the BJP government fresh ammunition to attack the UPA government with.
Baijal in his book has alleged that Singh had warned him of harm if he did not co-operate on 2G telecom licences and that the CBI wanted him to implicate Arun Shourie and Ratan Tata in the case.
In his self-published book, 'The Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power and Private Enterprise - A Practitioner's Diary', Baijal, who was appointed head of the telecom watchdog by the NDA government in 2003, said the 2G scam trail began under UPA's telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran's regime.
'Coalition in graft'
"The revelation makes it clear that it was a coalition in corruption," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Baijal's claims in the book reflected how the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government functioned. "The government of Dr Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had to face a lot of shame because of the 2G scam. Repeatedly they used to talk about zero loss and make fun of the CAG report....now if Pradip Baijal has written this, it is really unfortunate," the BJP leader added.
Baijal further wrote, "They (CBI) had warned me in each case that I would be harmed if I didn't cooperate. Incidentally, this was exactly what the eminent economist prime minister had told me would happen if I did not cooperate in their scheme of things in the 2G case."
About the claim that Maran asserted he was the "prime minister of the telecom department", Prasad said, "If it is true, it clearly reflects how Manmohan Singh government was functioning, where every minister thinks himself to be a prime minister."
Baijal further writes, "When I met the prime minister later, he said that you must listen to your minister and you must take his view into consideration. I said his view will get me into a lot of trouble."
The book claims Maran, who was telecom minister in UPA-1 from May 2004 to 2007, had threatened Baijal with serious consequences if he gave recommendations on unified licences that would have replaced the old system of giving out permits on first-come-first-served basis.
"Dayanidhi Maran told me in my first meeting with him not to give unified licensing recommendations as directed by the Cabinet of the previous government," he has written.
"I can only surmise that they were all working in tandem, possibly along with the PM, Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal at different stages and were guiding the CBI enquiry, getting files removed and, making false statements in the media to make a case against the erstwhile TRAI," the book said.