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Let A Raja depose before JPC on 2G scam: BJP

By Sreekumar
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Google Oneindia News

A Raja
New Delhi, Mar 3: BJP has openly supported former telecom minister A Raja's demand that he be called to depose before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that is looking into the 2G spectrum scam.

The Nilgiris MP had threatened to sit on fast shortly if the committee does not allow him to testify as a witness in the 2G case. Raja is planning to observe a hunger strike below the Gandhi statue at Gate number 1 of Parliament in case JPC chairman PC Chacko rejects his plea.

In a letter sent on Sunday, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha urged Chacko to convene a meeting of the committee "at the earliest" so that it can decide on calling Raja to depose.

"Sri Raja was a key player in the 2G scam...he should have been called before the JPC even otherwise, but now that he has himself sent the request for deposing before the JPC, it is absolutely imperative to provide him with an opportunity to do so," Sinha wrote.

DMK members of the JPC have been asking Chacko to let their party colleague become a witness. Besides T Siva and TR Baalu, another prominent member of the parliamentary committee has a similar opinion.

Sitaram Yechury of the CPI-M believes that Raja should be given a chance to present his side before the JPC.

Observing that "The more witnesses the merrier," Yechury said that once Raja deposes the JPC will be much "closer to the truth". The CPI-M leader was referring to the confusion created by the recent testimony of Attorney General GE Vahanvati.

The latter told the special court trying the 2G case that Raja fudged a press release issued in Jan 2008 on allocation of 2G spectrum. According to Vahanvati, the press release was surprisingly changed after he cleared the same in his capacity as the solicitor general.

However, Raja has slammed Vahanvati for "telling a lie". It is noteworthy that the CBI has charged Raja with making the changes in order to favour select companies.

Raja has repeatedly pointed out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram who served as Finance minister in 2008 were aware of all the decisions he took and neither of them objected to the telecom licensing process at any stage.

The ruling party is quite reluctant to accept Raja's plea to depose before the JPC. The fear of Chidambaram and the PM being dragged into the 2G scam has stopped Congress leadership from giving the go-ahead to Chacko in this matter.

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