2G scam: Raja blames PM again

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): Hours after saying that he did not seek to implicate the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, in the 2G spectrum case, former telecom minister A Raja renewed his attack on Dr.Singh, saying that the Prime Minister dhould have referred the matter to a Group of Ministers (GoM).

Raja told a special court in Delhi that he had sent back the 2G file to Dr. Singh and the latter should have called for a GoM if he had found any discrepancies.

Earlier today, Raja also pleaded before the court that Chidambaram be made a witness in the 2G spectrum case. The 47-year-old Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) lawmaker, who has been behind bars for nearly six months, also sought his "forthwith release", terming his judicial custody as an "illegal detention."

Raja's counsel Sushil Kumar made the submissions before Special Judge O P Saini while opposing the framing of corruption and other penal charges against him for his alleged role in the scam on the second day of arguments.

Seeking a direction to CBI to make Chidambaram a witness in the case, Raja said the former Finance Minister was privy to the matter relating to dilution of equities by Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless to foreign firms, Etisalat and Telenor, respectively.

"The matters relating to dilution of equities to foreign firms by Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless were known to the Prime Minister and then Finance Minister Chidambaram," the Times Now channel quoted Raja, as saying.

Raja clarified that his statement yesterday about Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram being aware of the dilution of shares by telcom firms did not amount to making any allegation against them.

"I am defending myself and not accusing anything against anybody. I am not after anybody," he said.

"I did not seek to implicate the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister in the 2G case," Raja said while attempting to shift the blame on media. They (media) cannot put words in my mouth. Ask them to report truthfully or go out of the court room," he said.

In the USA, the court proceedings are telecast live and the whole nation watches them to avoid such a situation, Raja said while accusing the media of misreporting.

Raja had yesterday told the court that "the then Finance Minister, who is now the Home Minister, had said in front of the Prime Minister that dilution of shares does not amount to the sale of 2G licence as per the corporate law."

"Let the Prime Minister deny this," he added.

Raja today also questioned the "presumptive loss" worth Rs 1.76 lakh crore assessed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report and termed it as "worthless", saying "its computation is not even relied upon by the CBI."

Raja also questioned the sanction to prosecute him, saying the same was flawed.

While defending himself against corruption charges in 2G scam, Raja had yesterday also submitted to the court that there was nothing wrong in his decision of not auctioning the 2G spectrum and he was merely following the policies pursued by his predecessors and the NDA government. (ANI)