Parivar stalled telecom FDI move

Two letters written by Swadeshi Jagaran Manch leader S Gurumurthy, one to Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and the other to Communications Minister Arun Shourie, formed the background of the government's decision to defer the opening up of the telecom sector.

The home ministry's report, which objected to the raising of the limit on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector from 49 to 74 per cent over security concerns, was an alibi for the government to camouflage serious differences within the Sangh Parivar over the issue.

A detailed report was handed over to Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani on Thursday morning, a few hours before the crucial meeting of the Cabinet. Though the report may have expressed security concerns, the government and the swadeshi faction of the Sangh Parivar had serious differences on this issue and this finally led to the final deferment.