Raja, who represents the DMK in the Lok Sabha, has been nominated to the Standing Committee on Energy. Kalmadi, Congress member of the Lok Sabha, has been nominated to the Standing Committee on External Affairs.
The Parliamentary Standing Committees examine the bills and give suggestions to the proposed legislations related to the ministries concerned.
Raja, who was arrested in connection with the 2G scam on Feb 2 last year, is on bail since May 15 this year. Kalmadi also spent about nine months in jail before being released on bail on Jan 19 this year.
DMK MP Kanimozhi, who was also accused in some cases related to the 2G spectrum allocation, has been nominated to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
1 box = 1 million 100 million = 1 crore 100 crore = 1 Koda 100 Koda = 1 Kalmadi 100 Kalmadi = 1 Raja 100 Raja = 1 Rani A Poster Against Corruption in India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Ruling of the Supreme Court of India on Presidential Reference regarding th auctioning of Natural Resources by the Government is blurred and is open for interpretations.
”This is the reason why the Government seems to have been relieved on the ruling.The bench of Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Justices DK Jain, JS Khehar, Dipak Misra and Ranjan Gogoi unanimously replied that the 2G judgment, which cancelled 122 spectrum licences and ordered their auction, was never meant to be an “auction only” prescription for allocation of natural resources other than spectrum. ….
“The recommendation of auction for alienation of natural resources was never intended to be taken as an absolute or blanket statement applicable across all natural resources, but simply a conclusion made at first blush over the attractiveness of a method like auction in disposal of natural resources,” the bench said.’
The Court could have simply dismissed the petition as frivolous instead of making such a non -committal observation.
Who is how to decides on ‘The Common Good?’
This is subjective and any one can decide as to what is Common Good’ and by-pass the judgement in any way they want.
Anticipation/Projection of the amount that might be realised by Auctioning is , again subjective and notional,
The Government may argue that by allotting to some one it might realise money.
In what can at best be described as funny logic The Supreme Court refused to entertain the plea of Dr.Dr.Subramanian Swamy to include the present and the then Finance Minister P.Chidambaram in the 2G Spectrum case where the Government has been defrauded to the tune of Rs.1,86,000 Crore.
“1) The top court has found the petitions not maintainable and dismissed the requests of petitioners Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy and lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan that Mr Chidambaram be investigated for his alleged role in the telecom scam. Mr Chidambaram was Finance Minister in 2008, when then Telecom Minister A Raja allegedly gifted mobile network licenses and frequency to ineligible companies.
2) Mr Swamy’s petition said that Mr Chidambaram must be made a co-accused in the 2G scam case. His contention was that the minister must be held responsible for allowing the telecom scam on his watch as Finance Minister.
3) Mr Swamy said that Mr Chidambaram was aware of Mr Raja’s actions. On matters like the pricing of spectrum, he should have intervened to protect the country’s interests, Mr Swamy has argued.
4) A special CBI court had rejected Mr Swamy’s request in February this year and he had appealed to the Supreme Court against that verdict.
5) The other petition had been filed by leading lawyer and anti-corruption activist Prashant Bhushan on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, a non-governmental organisation. It sought a CBI investigation into Mr Chidambaram’s alleged role in the 2G scam.
6) Mr Bhushan’s petition alleged that Mr Chidambaram as Finance Minister overruled his officers who favoured the auction of spectrum. Mr Bhushan also said that Mr Chidambaram allowed two companies that were allegedly shown undue favour by Mr Raja, to sell stake to foreign investors at massive profits on the basis of licences that they had got at hefty bargains. The companies – Swan and Unitech Wireless – have said no rules were violated because they did not sell their stake but created additional equity. Swan partnered with UAE-based Etisalat and Unitech with Norwegian company Telenor. The government has said that both companies operated within the parameters of the law in those partnerships.
7) Early this year, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences issued by Mr Raja and said that spectrum should have been auctioned instead of being given at no extra cost along with licences. 2G or second generation spectrum will now be auctioned this year on the court’s orders. A Raja spent about a year in jail before being granted bail. ”
The Supreme Court seems to have stated in its Judgement(as reported by Times Now TV to-day), is that the mere fact that there might be some evidence here and there, it is not sufficient, to implicate Chidambaram in the 2G case.
It may be a fact that Chidambaram might have met the DoT officials.
It does not amount to Criminal Conspiracy.
The repeated use of the term,’Criminal Conspiracy’- does it mean that there is conspiracy, though not Conspiratorial in nature?Yes, when a meeting involves a scam, the Finance Minister discussed among other things the 2 G in the passing, thereby Chidambaram , the astute Lawyer that he is has provided himself with an excellent alibi.
I wrote on July 12, 2011 that
”
The Finance ministry was aware that there was something amiss in granting of licenses of 2G.
This is proved by the fact that the MoF had written to telecom ministry.
This was not followed up.
When suitable reply has not been received from the Ministry,Chidambaram should have taken it up with the GoM or the PM.
Now we find that there are ‘Non paper Decisions’(new term for unlawful decisions), and that there were no records kept for the meeting of Raja and Chidambaram.
All tis point out to acquiescence if not active participation of Chidambaram.
As I have noted in my earlier blog,is this a quid pro quo for manipulation of last Parliament elections, about which a case is pending.
2G scam runs deep.
It appears to lead towards PMO as well as Sonia Gandhi.
Despite clear indications the media is shy of mentioning either name .
Worse still PM is considered Honest and even called as ‘hands on PM’!
The Honorable judges must be aware of these facts and there were leaks in the Media on the ‘Paperless Discussions’ among Raja,Chidambaram.9 the leaks were from the PMO )
Probably they discussed what they would have for Lunch.
Now the Government has shredded the entire Tapes of Radia.
It is much easier for the Supreme Court to declare there is no evidence of 2 G linking to politicians and the Corporates.
Raja will be laughing heartily, as this opens new doors for him.
Viva la Justice!
“the trail of those who leaked the Niira Radia tapes could have been lost forever had not the Supreme Court decided to keep a copy with itself. The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it has destroyed the entire Radia tapes, publication of excerpts from which threw the spotlight on ways of doing business as well as the tendency of security agencies to violate privacy of citizens.
The government said under Rule 419(A) of Indian Telegraph Rules, the intercepting agency was mandated to maintain and safely keep the intercepts for six months and thereafter destroy them if no action was required to be taken on the basis of the contents of the intercepts. The Radia intercepts were destroyed as no action was required to be taken on the tapes.
“Three key CAG reports were tabled in Parliament on Friday indicting the government of causing a combined loss of crores of rupees to the national exchequer.
The much-awaited CAG report on coal block allotment said private firms are likely to gain Rs 1.86 lakh crore from coal blocks that were allocated to them on nomination basis instead of competitive bidding.”
Earlier I blogged on the fact that Dayanidhi maran, former Telecom Minister and Grand nephew of DMK Supremeo, Karunanidhi and Brother of Kalaanidhi Maran who controls SUN TV Group.
Now the CBI has deposed before the JPC that it has evidence that Dayanidhi Maran had received the Bribe from Astro All Asia Net Woks Plc-Rs. 549.96 Crore by way of investment in SUN DTH at an inflated rate.
Astro All Asia Net Woks Plc is a related company of Maxis Communication.
CBI is reported to have quizzed Dayanidhi Maran last week on this and he is reported to have replied in writing.
What is of note is that this action comes just after The Presidential Election and new alignments are in the offing for the next General Elections.
Story:
The CBI has recently questioned the former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran in connection with a case against him, his brother Kalanithi Maran and Malaysian business tycoon and head of Maxis Communications T. Ananda Krishnan of allegedly coercing the former owner of Aircel Televentures C. Sivasankaran into selling his equity in Aircel.
Mr. Dayanidhi Maran allegedly denied Mr. Sivasankaran’s firm seven pending 2G spectrum licences in various circles, and the Point of Interconnection facility from the state-owned BSNL.
The CBI alleged that an illegal gratification of Rs. 549.96 crore accrued to the Maran brothers from the purchase of Sun Direct TV shares by Astro All Asia Networks Plc, a related company of Maxis Communications, allegedly at a “highly inflated” rate.
Tehelka exposed the shenanigans of Maran and Maran has come out with a defense ‘ there was no loss to the government during his tenure as Union telecom minister, Maran said he was not even a minister when Astroinvested in Sun TV Network. “I own no shares or interest in Sun TV Network,” .
He is said to have issued notice to Tehelka, which is nothing but legal non sense with no substance and facts…..
Is Ananda Krishnan a front for Maran?
Facts seem to speak differently.
According to sources, the CBI has now trained its guns on a strikingly similar deal — though the quantum is almost four times that of the Balwa-Kalaignar transaction — between Sun TV Group, owned by the family of Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran, and Malaysian business conglomerate Maxis Group and owner of 74 percent direct equity in Aircel Group, the country’s seventh biggest telecom operator….
In November 2006, then Telecom Minister Maran granted 14 (UASL) for Aircel. The licence, along with the startup 2G spectrum, was awarded at the same price at which later Raja gave away 2G licenses to Swan, Unitech and a host of other players in 2008 — Aircel paid Rs 1,399 crore for 14 telecom circles, the price was arrived at through an auction process in 2001 when the telecom industry was in its nascent stage.
The telecom licences to Aircel were awarded after about two years of ‘unwarranted’ delay on the part of the DoT headed by Maran at the time. Aircel’s applications for new circles were pending since Maran’s takeover as minister for communications and IT in May 2004. According to the report prepared by the one-man committee of Justice (retired) Shivraj Patil constituted to examine the appropriateness of procedures followed by DoT in issuing licences during the period 2001-2009, the DoT kept raising ‘irrelevant’, ‘vague’ and ‘unwarranted’ queries about different aspects related to Aircel and kept the applications pending (Patil submitted his report to present Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on 31 January)….
It was only after March 2006, when Malaysian business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan, whose parents were Sri Lankan Tamils, bought 74 percent stake in Aircel, that its file gained momentum. Until then the company was owned by C Sivasankaran, the chairman of Siva Group (earlier known as Sterling Infotech Group). Krishnan paid Rs 3,390.82 crore for 74 percent equity in Aircel. Today, Aircel is the seven biggest telecom operator in the country with its net worth valued in the range of $7.5-$8 billion…”
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