Was distressed when SC cancelled licences: Raja
NEWDELHI: Former telecom minister A Raja broke down in prison when he heard about the death of Sadiq Batcha, his good friend and the managing director of Green House Promoters Pvt Ltd that was probed by the CBI in the 2G scam.
It was one of the three occasions he was “disheartened and distressed” in prison, the former telecom minister writes in his book, 2G Saga Unfolds. The book hits the shelves January 20.
“I heard the news on TV while conversing with TR Baalu (a DMK colleague) in the jail visitors’ room. Baalu tried his best to console me but I broke down grief-stricken. It was agonising to see the kind of end that he had -he was found hanging at his home in Chennai,” writes Raja. Batcha’s firm was probed by the CBI for allegedly being a front to park Raja’s money.
Raja, who was in Delhi’s Tihar jail, was in December acquitted in the 2G scam.
Another occasion that left him distressed was when the Supreme Court in 2012 cancelled 122 telecom licences issued during his tenure.
“Even though I was not a party named in that case (in the Supreme Court), several inappropriate accusations were directed at me. I feel deeply hurt at the manner in which this was conducted,” writes Raja.
The judgment said the scarce natural resource spared by the army was grabbed by those who had money power and could manipulate the system.
“In reality not even one Mega Hertz of spectrum was received from the Defence Department (Army)... I was the one who had dug up ‘hidden spectrum’. I still don’t know what evidence was used to confirm that spectrum had been obtained from Defence,” says Raja.
His brother-in-law, Deepak’s death, who suffered a heart attack while exercising, was the third occasion that left Raja distraught.
Raja says he believes there was “political motivation to kill UPA 2” and former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai was the shoulder from which the gun was fired.
Raja also faults the UPA government’s handling of the CAG’S charges. “Even now I cannot believe why the government, which had a number of accomplished lawyers in its ranks, never bothered to probe deeper and expose the truth.”
Raja says he was accused of ignoring the advice of the Prime Minister and the finance minister. “Was it not necessary for the PM and FM to tell the CBI their views,” asks Raja in the book published by Har Anand Publications. “I don’t know why he (former PM Manmohan Singh) could not muster the resolve even though the truth was on his side… That one action – or rather inaction – has caused so much damage to his reputation.”