In ‘tell-all’, Raja questions motive of CAG’S 2G report
NEWDELHI: Former telecom minister A Raja has said the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) ignored clarifications from his ministry and kept “wailing about spectrum auction” during audits that were the basis of a 2010 report, the findings of which eventually came to be known as the 2G scam.
Raja spent 15 months in prison and was acquitted last month of charges that he rigged the allocation of 2G mobile spectrum in what was then regarded as one of India’s biggest scams and led to his resignation. His ‘tell-all’ book is set to be released on January 20.
“…the CAG having decided that ‘Audit reiterates that specific value of 2G spectrum could have been discovered only through an efficient market drawn process’ had developed illusion of grandeur that he could mandate government policy,” Raja writes in 2G Saga Unfolds, referring to Vinod Rai, who was the CAG during 2008-2013.
Rai did not reply to phone calls and a text message seeking his comments on Raja’s allegations.
“Rai continued to skirt constructive discussion on the matter and kept wailing about ‘spectrum auction’. It would perhaps have been in the public’s better interest to investigate Rai’s motivation to rush into this ‘hunt’ almost blatantly ignoring decisions and recommendations of TRAI, the Union Cabinet and Telecom Commission!” Raja writes in the book.
Shortly after his acquittal, Raja said “the presumptive loss” theory in the CAG report was “cooked-up”. The loss refers to a figure of Rs 1.76 lakh cr that the CAG said was potentially because 2G spectrum was not auctioned.
ON CAG’S MANDATE
Raja questions how the CAG took inputs from CBI, which was conducting a probe into the allocations, for its report. “Where is the sanctity of articles of responsibility and separation of duties between Central Vigilance Commission, CBI and CAG – 3Cs as Rai dubs them in his book?”
“In the 2G audit CAG Vinod Rai had strong opinions (and perhaps external motivations) against the policies implemented and hence orchestrated the actual investigation, the framing of the report and the media interactions in such a biased manner as to sensationalise the situation and rile up public,” the book says.