Opposition guns for scam-tainted Raja

With the Congress having replaced Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan and its high-profile MP and sports czar, Suresh Kalmadi, on corruption-related charges, the opposition today began baying for yet another tainted leader, A. Raja, the telecoms minister, who belongs to the party's southern ally, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

 A day after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) indicted Raja in the 2G spectrum scam, accusing him of ignoring the advice of the finance and law ministries and the Telecom Commission while allocating spectrum – which resulted in a hefty loss of Rs170,000 crore to the exchequer – opposition leaders began gunning for him.

 With state assembly elections due in Tamil Nadu next year, the AIADMK has been leading the charge against Raja, who is close to DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu chief minister, M Karunanidhi.

Raja has denied any wrong-doing and claims that even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was aware about his decisions on the allocation of 2G spectrum.

 The Congress finds itself in an unenviable position, with not just the Opposition trying to extract political mileage. Last month, even the Supreme Court wanted to know why Raja was continuing in office. Addressing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) counsel while hearing a public interest litigation on the 2G scam, the apex court said, ''You (CBI) have not done anything. The matter is serious.

The same minister is still continuing today. Is this the way the government functions? Do you follow the same standards in respect of everyone? One year has gone by.''