BJP ups ante, demands CBI probe into PM's role

A day after former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran’s letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came out in the open suggesting he had asked the latter to ensure the pricing of spectrum was decided by his ministry, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday urged the Supreme Court to make sure the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigated into the prime minister’s role in the 2G spectrum issue.

In a sudden change of strategy, the BJP decided to target the prime minister, even as it had earlier claimed that Singh was misled by the present home minister and then finance minister P Chidambaram, and former telecom minister A Raja.

“We had been saying that prime minister Manmohan Singh was aware of what former telecom minister A Raja was doing. The CBI has questioned Jaswant Singh, but are not initiating investigations against Chidambaram. The home minister deserves the same cell in Tihar Jail where A Raja is,” senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said.

On February 1, 2006, then telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, in a letter addressed to the PM, had asked the latter to dilute the terms of reference and ensure the issue of pricing of the 2G spectrum remained with the telecom ministry.

“Today, if I have any admiration left for A Raja, it is because he kept the prime minister informed at every step. The CBI should ask the prime minister at least 20-30 questions. Somebody has to ask Manmohan Singh,” said Sinha.

He further said the letters and documents exchanged between Singh and Raja clearly suggested the latter had informed the prime minister at every level and used to send letters which the PM acknowledged.

“The prime minister has supported Chidambaram in the same way as he had supported Raja. He was informed at every level. He kept quiet knowing everything. It can’t be called silence, but means agreement. The PM knows if Chidambaram is questioned, he will not remain untouched, too,” Sinha added.

Meanwhile, the Congress strongly defending both Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram and raised questions regarding the telecom policy during the BJP-NDA regime.

“I would like to ask the BJP, why is it that on January 31, 2002, the then telecom minister decided to allocate spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz without referring to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and without contemplating an auction? Second, why is it that when cellular licenses were given in 2001, spectrum was not auctioned separately? Why is it that in 2001, when limited mobility licenses were given, spectrum wasn’t auctioned separately? The BJP should first gets its facts right,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.