CPI(M) pegs 2G scam at Rs 1.9 lakh cr

Armed with a new audit report that says the 2G license process "lacked fairness and transparency", the CPI (M) has again trained its gun on Union Telecom Minister A Raja. The party demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh take immediate steps to recover the lost licence and spectrum fee of Rs 1,90,000 crore and drop Raja from the government to ensure a fair probe.

The party's renewed attack on the telecom ministry comes after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke about the huge revenue difference between the 2G and the 3G spectrum allocations and promised that no one would be spared if found guilty.

"We want the Prime Minister to follow up what he said and recover the loss of Rs 1,90,000 crore of the 2G allocations. The Prime Minister himself had said in Parliament that India can't have crony capitalism. Whatever has happened in the 2G auction is nothing but crony capitalism," Sitaram Yechury said here.