Never misled then PM on 2G spectrum issue: Raja

New Delhi, Feb 4: Former Telecom Minister A Raja today told a special court that he had never misled then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on any issues relating to procedures to be followed for allocation of 2G spectrum allocation.

Opposing CBI's allegation that he had misled Singh on 2G spectrum issues, Raja said that he had delivered whatever he had conveyed to the then PM in his letters addressed to him in November 2007. "I was not misleading the then Prime Minister in my letters when I said adequate spectrum will be available to accommodate the applicants who had applied till September 25, 2007. Whatever I told the PM, I delivered that within a year.

This shows I was not lying to him," Raja's counsel Manu Sharma told Special CBI Judge O P Saini. During the final arguments in the case, Sharma alleged that it was the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) which had written to the Prime Minister that there was no adequate available spectrum. "COAI goes and tells the Prime Minister that there was no adequate spectrum.

This was a last ditch effort by COAI to stall entire proceedings in Department of Telecommunications (DoT) regarding allocation of spectrum," he said.

Raja's counsel also dealt with CBI's allegation that the then telecom minister had unilaterally advanced the cut-off date to September 25, 2007, for receiving applications seeking 2G spectrum allocation to favour Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL) and Unitech. He said that Swan had applied for licences in February- March, 2007 and Unitech applied on September 24, 2007.

"Why would Swan conspire with someone who came in September 2007 ? This would have minimised Swan's chances of getting the licences," he said during the arguments which would continue tomorrow. Raja's counsel also claimed that the CBI has deliberately not placed before the court the records of 51 new Unified Access Services Licences (UASL) which were granted between 2003 and 2007 before Raja took charge as the telecom minister.

Raja had yesterday told the court that he had informed the then Prime Minister about Law Ministry's opinion to refer the matter of processing of applications seeking 2G spectrum to an empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM).

PTI