New Delhi:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an application in the trial court seeking addition of a fresh charge of breach of trust by public servants against former Telecom Minister A Raja and two others - Raja's former private secretary R K Chandolia and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura - in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
The CBI is looking to strengthen its case with the new and stronger charge that carries a maximum punishment of imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term which may extend up to ten years. Under the charges levelled earlier, the maximum sentence for the accused is seven years.
(Read: CBI for fresh charge against Raja)A Raja, a popular Dalit leader from the DMK, was arrested in February this year for undervaluing spectrum and gifting it at no charge along with mobile network licenses to companies that were ineligible in 2008. He was Telecom Minister then. The lack of an auction, some experts say, has cost the government thousands of crores.
Defending himself in court today, A Raja said P Chidambaram, who was the then Finance Minister, signed all documents related to spectrum allocation. Mr Raja, in his plea, asked the court to call Mr Chidambaram as a witness in the 2G case.
Mr Raja also trained guns at BJP leader Jaswant Singh. As head of Group of Ministers (GoM) in 2003, Mr Singh decided against auctioning spectrum and should also be questioned, argued Mr Raja.
"Mr Chidambaram was party to all decisions. I'm not calling him an accused but he knew everything. He was acquainted with all facts and circumstances of the case. My job will be done by calling Chidambaram as a court witness under section 311 of the CrPC. Let the court decide if it wants to call the PM," said Mr Raja's lawyer in court today.
Mr Raja has repeatedly argued in court that the decisions he took were sanctioned by the Prime Minister and Mr Chidambaram.
One of the big accusations against Mr Raja is that he ignored advice from other ministers to auction the spectrum, therefore wasting a valuable national resource and costing the government thousands in crores. A note from the Finance Ministry in March this year, forwarded to the Prime Minister's office, suggests that Mr Chidambaram should have insisted on an auction. The 14-page document also says that the guidelines of telecom policy provided the government with a loophole even after Mr Raja signed off on deals that provided licenses at a paltry Rs. 1600 crores each to companies that he was allegedly colluding with. The note that criticizes Mr Chidambaram was "seen by" Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee which translates into his endorsement of its contents.