Ratan Tata calls for a probe into out-of-turn allocation of spectrum

Ratan Tata, chairman of the $70 billion Tata group, has urged the Indian government to probe into the ''hoarding and out-of-turn allocation of spectrum to important players,'' besides appointing an auditor to look into the telecom scam.

In an interview to television news channel NDTV, Tata bemoaned the fact that the entire issue was slipping into ''a morass of a series of allegations.''

He said, ''I wish the government would take a stand, bring an auditor, have an investigation and book people who are guilty of something.''

Condemning the 'crazy' happenings in the media – sections of which were making allegations, convicting, executing and indulging in character assassination – Tata called for a stop to ''this sort of Banana Republic kind of attack on whoever one chooses to attack on a basis unsubstantiated even before the person has a very Indian right, namely to be considered innocent until found guilty in a court of law.''

A couple of magazines recently published leaked transcripts of taped telephonic conversation between lobbyist Niira Radia – who also owns a PR agency that among others has the Tata group as its client – and top politicians and journalists. 

Dismissing such leakages and media allegations as a "smokescreen," Tata said they merely succeeded in deflecting attention from bigger scandals such as the out-of-turn allocation of spectrum and the hoarding of the key resource ''by important players for free.''