From the Time Allegations of Misappropriation During the Bidding
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New Delhi: From the time allegations of misappropriation during the bidding for allocation of 2G spectrum surfaced, till Telecom Minister A Raja's ouster, high drama charged both politics in Delhi and Tamil Nadu. So what exactly is the Spectrum Scam that led to all this? WHAT IS SPECTRUM SCAM? y 2G licenses issued to private telecom players at throwaway prices in 2008 y CAG: Spectrum scam has cost the government Rs. 1.76 lakh crore y CAG: Rules and procedures flouted while issuing licenses WHAT ARE THE CHARGES ON FORMER TELECOM MINISTER A RAJA? CHEAP TELECOM LICENSES y Entry fee for spectrum licenses in 2008 pegged at 2001 prices y Mobile subscriber base had shot up to 350 million in 2008 from 4 million in 2001 NO PROCEDURES FOLLOWED y Rules changed after the game had begun y Cut-off date for applications advanced by a week y Licenses issued on a first-come-first-served basis y No proper auction process followed, no bids invited y Raja ignored advice of TRAI, Law Ministry, Finance Ministry y TRAI had recommended auctioning of spectrum at market rates FAVOURITISM, CORPORATES ENCASH PREMIUM y Unitech, Swan Telecom got licenses without any prior telecom experience y Swan Telecom given license even though it did not meet eligibility criteria y Swan got license for Rs. 1537 crore, sold 45% stake to Etisalat for Rs. 4200 crore y Unitech Wireless got license for Rs. 1661 crore, sold 60% stake for Rs. 6200 crore y All nine companies paid DoT only Rs. 10,772 crore for 2G licences OTHERS IN THE NET y DMK chief M Karunanidhi's daughter and MP Kanimozhi who has been named by the CBI as a co- conspirator with A Raja y Shahid Balwa, the promoter of Swan Telecom, who the CBI believes had a central role in the 2G spectrum scam. He has been accused of colluding with former Telecom Minister A Raja by allegedly channelising kickbacks Raja got from the spectrum sale into the real estate y Unitech chief Sanjay Chandra and DB Realty founder Vinod Goenka who have been chargesheeted for cheating and conspiracy y Three senior executives of Anil Ambani controlled ADAG, Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara. All these are currently lodged in Tihar Jail y Former telecom secretary Sidharth Behura, who allegedly shut counters to physically block other telecom companies, faces the same charges as Raja. And so does Raja's Personal Secretary RK Chandolia THE ROLE OF KALAIGNAR TV One of the companies named by the CBI in the 2G scam - Swan Telecom - allegedly sent Mr Raja a Rs. 214-crore kickback that was routed through a maze of companies but rested finally with Kalaignar TV channel in Chennai that is owned mainly by Kanimozhi and Dayalu Ammal. Together, they have 80% stake in the company. Sharad Kumar, the Managing Director of Kalaignar TV, owns the balance and has also been accused of conspiring with Mr Raja. KANIMOZHI STATEMENT: Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/what-is-2g-spectrum-scam-66418&cp New Delhi: Kanimozhi, the daughter of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, is due tomorrow in the Delhi court that's trying India's biggest-ever scam - the 2G spectrum scam. Kanimozhi has been accused of conspiracy and accepting a bribe. Sources in the CBI say they will oppose her bail. That means the young MP from the DMK could be sent to jail. "If that is what the legal system wants...we have to face everything legally...we cannot run away from things like the opposition leader in Tamil Nadu does," she said today to NDTV, while taking a swipe at her party's political bete noire, Jayalalithaa. "We have to respect the court...we have to face it...I can't keep running away," Kanimozhi said. "We have to face whatever the courts decide and I don't want to speculate...let's wait and see what happens tomorrow." The DMK MP says she doesn't expect leniency because she's a woman. Kanimozhi, a Rajya Sabha MP, has been accused by the CBI of accepting a 214-crore bribe along with her partyman, A Raja, who is already in Tihar Jail. Mr Raja was Telecom Minister when he allegedly gave away licenses and 2G spectrum in 2008 to companies that did not meet the eligibility criteria. He has been accused of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. So far, the CBI has opposed bail for anyone who has been chargesheeted in the 2G scam, including five executives from some of the country's biggest companies - Swan Telecom, Reliance Telecom and Unitech Wireless. Sources in the CBI say that while opposing Kanimozhi's bail, they will argue, like in the case of the executives, that she could influence witnesses if she is not sent to jail. Kanimozhi's husband and mother are in Delhi with her. M Karunanidhi, her father, reportedly wanted to accompany her to court tomorrow but she refused his offer. "We don't want him to travel all the way," she said. Mr Karunanidhi has in recent weeks been critical of what he describes as excessive publicity given to Kanimozhi's interrogation in March in Chennai. He also expressed his resentment of the chargesheet against her being leaked to the media a few days before the CBI presented it in court. Kanimozhi, whose stepbrothers MK Alagiri and MK Stalin are also heavyweight politicians, is known to be her father's favourite. Along with her stepmother, she owns a part of Kalaignar TV, a local channel in Chennai. A bribe from Swan Telecom to Mr Raja - a hefty thank you for a telecom license - was allegedly routed through a labyrinth of companies before it was deposited with Kalaignar. During her interrogation, Kanimozhi said that the money was part of an equity deal that collapsed; she said the money was returned with interest. However, the CBI points out that the return was made only after Mr Raja started being questioned about the 2G scam. Today, she repeated the line of defence she offered during her interrogation by the CBI. "I am not a director and I have not made any decisions," she said, suggesting that she was not aware of the deals being struck by Kalaignar TV. However, the CBI has countered this claim in its chargesheet, describing her as an active player in her TV channel. The CBI pointed out that she lobbied hard for broadcasting permits and for Kalaignar to be added to Tata Sky's DTH service. CHIDAMBARAM STATEMENT TO MM JOSHI New Delhi: The rancor over Murli Manohar Joshi's report on the 2G scam is causing a political meltdown. Today, Mr Chidambaram has accused Mr Joshi of "gross distortion" in the section that dissects Mr Chidambaram's role. (Read: Chidambaram's complete rebuttal here) "Even a person of average intelligence," Mr Chidambaram charges, should be able to spot what Mr Joshi has incorrectly stated. As Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Mr Joshi drafted a report on the telecom scam and faulted, among others, the Prime Minister, his office, and Mr P Chidambaram who was Finance Minister in 2008 when the scam was executed, allegedly by A Raja as Telecom Minister. Mr Raja is now in jail for servicing companies who allegedly bribed him handsomely for licenses and spectrum at clearance prices. At a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee yesterday, 11 of the 21 members, most of them from the Congress and DMK, voted against Mr Joshi's report. Mr Joshi, who is one of the Opposition BJP's most senior leaders, stormed out of the meeting. He says he had adjourned the meeting before the vote took place - so the report has not been rejected. The government believes that it has. The Speaker, Meira Kumar, is likely to play a crucial role in deciding who's correct. Mr Chidambaram, who is now Home Minister, says that a letter written by him to the Prime Minister in January 2008, after telecom licenses were allotted, has been deliberately taken out of context by Mr Joshi. The report prepared by Mr Joshi faults Mr Chidambaram for asking the Prime Minister to "treat the matter as closed" - Mr Joshi says this is an example of the "multiple systematic failure" that allowed a "nefarious" Mr Raja to execute his scam. Mr Joshi says too many parts of the government looked away when Mr Raja had his hand in the cookie jar. Not true, says Mr Chidambaram, alleging that "even a person with average intelligence" would have noticed that his letter referred not to the "entry fee" or what companies had to pay to enter the market, but to usage charges for spectrum. It is the entry fee - of 1600 crores per operator in 2008-that has shocked experts, mainly because that was the rate decided upon in 2001. The term of the current Public Accounts Committee expires Saturday. Mr Joshi is meant to Chair the new committee as well. New Delhi: Dayalu Ammal, wife of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Additional Director of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, has told CBI that she was not aware of the source of Rs. 200 crore which came to the channel in which she has a 60 per cent share. The CBI, in its second chargesheet, has named Ammal as one of the witnesses in the 2G spectrum case while other shareholders Kanimozhi, daughter of Karunanidhi and Rajya Sabha MP along with the channel's Managing Director Sharad Kumar, have been named as accused. "On being asked about the source of Rs.