CPI (M), Maneka Gandhi want Chidambaram's role in 2G scam probed

New Delhi, Feb 5 (ANI): The Communist Party of India-Marxist and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Maneka Gandhi on Sunday demanded that the alleged "dereliction" of duty by former finance minister P Chidambaram in not preventing the 2G spectrum scam be probed.

"It's severe dereliction of duty. The then Finance Minister was supposed to share the responsibility of fixing the price. How did he discharge that responsibility is not in public domain. That needs to be probed," said CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu here.

He was referring to the Finance Ministry's March 25, 2011 note which had suggested that Chidambaram could have prevented the scam by insisting on spectrum auction instead of first-come, first serve policy. Basu said the judicial process in the trial court was limited only to Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy's plea that Chidambaram should be made a co-accused in the case.

He said both the Supreme Court order cancelling 122 2G licenses and the trial court's observation have confirmed that the policy aspect of the issue should be fully gone into. Maintaining that a "protracted legal battle" would now follow with regard to Chidambaram's alleged involvement, Basu said the apex court's order had quoted the "government's own policy paper to say the then Finance Minister was jointly responsible for the pricing of spectrum".

There was "overwhelming evidence" that Chidambaram and the then Telecom Minister A Raja had "consulted each other" on the issue, he claimed. Basu said: "There is no evidence to show that the former disagreed or tried to stop" the move to go for a first-come, first-serve policy on granting spectrum licenses.

Meanwhile, addressing media in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, Maneka Gandhi said there is enough evidence against Chidambaram to send him to jail. Speaking after addressing a rally in favour of the BJP candidate in Dataganj, Maneka said that she was only interested in seeing a honest and dedicated chief minister take charge of affairs in Uttar Pradesh.

She squarely blamed incumbent chief minister Mayawati for the rise of liquor baron G. (Ponty) Chaddha and alleged that Mayawati had also sold sugar mills worth crores of rupees to him at throwaway prices. She also claimed that Mayawati has purchased three bungalows in a posh area of Delhi.

Condemning the woman who hurled a slipper at Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav during a rally in Banda on Saturday, she said that the trend which started in a foreign country was wrong. (ANI)