CBI seeks 6 months more to probe 2G spectrum scam
08 Oct 2010
The Central Bureau of Investigation today sought another six months from the Supreme Court to investigate the alleged scam in the sale of 2G spectrum.
The CBI told the Supreme Court that it needed time to reach a definite conclusion on the role of the various players supposedly involved, and till then it will not be possible for the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give his sanction for the prosecution of telecommunications minister Andimuthu Raja.
'Spectrum' Raja of the DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, has long been under fire for allotting scarce spectrum at throwaway prices. In January 2008, 2G spectrum was given to operators at a price of Rs1,658 crore for a pan-India licence on a first-come-first-served basis.
By late 2008, though the value of spectrum had multiplied manifold, the government got a total of just Rs9,014 crore as licence fee from the 122 licensees.
It was anticipated in the media and elsewhere that the government's final stand on the issue would be made clear today, when the CBI's affidavit was to be opened. But this is clearly not about to happen in a hurry.
Observers have now begun to say that Singh's government is deliberately delaying Raja's indictment under political considerations. The apprehensions about the impartiality of the CBI expressed by the prosecution may be well founded, they feel.
