2G: Achary fails to recall Raja's discussion with Pranab, PC

A former aide of A Raja and key witness in 2G spectrum case today failed to recall in a Delhi court if the ex-telecom minister had discussions on telecom issues with his erstwhile senior cabinet colleagues Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram before sending the letters to the Prime Minister in November and December 2007.

Raja's former Additional Private Secretary Asheervatham Achary said he did not remember if the former minister had discussed telecom issues with Mukherjee and Chidambaram before writing letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November and December 2007 on issues related to spectrum auctioning.

"I am not able to recollect if around November 2, 2007, and December 26, 2007, there were discussions of A Raja with the Finance Minister (Chidambaram) and the External Affairs Minister [Mukherjee]," Achary told Special Judge OP Saini.

Raja had written letters to the Prime Minister on November 2, 2007, regarding cut-off date for applications for the 2G licences. He had also written to the PM on December 26, 2007, detailing procedures to be adopted for distribution of Letter of Intents (LoIs) and first-come-first-serve (FCFS) basis.

Through a November 2, 2007, letter, Raja had apprised the PM that due to unprecedented number of applications received, the cut-off date of October 1, 2007, announced on September 24, 2007 was preponed later for September 25, a step that CBI alleged had been taken to favour some private telecom firms.

Testifying as the seventh prosecution witness in the 2G case, Achary told the court that he did not know if the November 2, 2007, letter was "drafted by Raja surreptitiously".