Radia admits cabinet formation talk with Raja, Kanimozhi

M D of Tata Communications had meetings with Raja at the latter's residence in November 2008: Radia

Corporate lobbyist Niira Radia made an appearance as the prosecution witness in the CBI court today. She acknowledged her conversation with former telecom minister A Raja’s personal secretary R K Chandolia about Kalaignar TV being hosted on Tata Sky. She also admitted talking about cabinet formation with Raja and Kanimozhi, MP and daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi.  

She said that the managing director of Tata Communications had meetings with Raja at the latter’s residence in November 2008 and some of these meetings were attended by her as well. She also added, “In November 2007, Ratan Tata gave me a sealed cover for being handed over to M Karunanidhi, but I do not know its content.”

Radia told the court that as per her knowledge, Ratan Tata did not give any donations to a Perambalur Hospital which falls in Raja’s constituency, as was alleged.

Radia also said that Mahendra Nahata of Datacom had discussions about his stake sale in 2008. However she added, “It is not in my knowledge that most of the new licencees, who got licences in 2008, were looking for foreign partners, though it was the general perception.”

Radia’s cross examination would continue tomorrow, when the court is also likely to give its decision on CBI’s plea to call Reliance Communication chief Anil Ambani as a prosecution witness in the case.

Meanwhile, Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy today filed a petition in the court to call two former finance ministry officials as witnesses in the 2G spectrum scam trial. Swamy has sought to call Shyamala Shukla, former Director of Infrastructure, and Sindhushree Khullar, the then Additional Secretary of Economic Affairs Department, as witness.

The court will give its order on this matter on July 23. Swamy, in his petition, has asked the court to summon the note given by Raja to the joint parliamentary committee. He wants Khullar and Shukla to throw light on the file notings in the meetings held between the telecom and finance ministry during Raja’s tenure as the telecom minister.

Swamy had earlier moved a plea to make former finance minister P Chidambaram an accused in the case.  He told O P Saini, special CBI judge, that the examination of witnesses, was incomplete since the meetings about spectrum allocation with the other ministries have not been discussed.