Chennai:
Hours after the CBI sent him a notice summoning him for questioning in the 2G scam, A Raja said that he is not in hiding and will not apply for anticipatory bail.
The former Telecom Minister is currently in Chennai.
"When I was here, I received a letter from the CBI and immediately I sent a letter that I am in Chennai. I am having some personal work and health check-up. I told them that whatever be the next date convenient to the CBI, I will come...It is up to the CBI now to tell me about the new date," Raja told reporters.
This morning, the CBI asked Raja and Niira Radia to make themselves available for interrogation. Radia, a PR executive, is alleged to have lobbied ferociously for Raja to be made Telecom Minister after the UPA won the general elections in 2009. The government had Radia's phone tapped in 2008 and 2009 after a complaint questioned the accelerated pace and size of her business empire. Nearly 6000 phone conversations of Radia's - including several with Raja- are being studied by the CBI.
The 2G scam - a swindle of unprecedented scale according to the government's auditor - cost Raja his job as Telecom Minister in November. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found the allocation of spectrum in 2008, under the tutelage of Raja, to be brokered with corruption that was both naked and resilient. Companies that were not eligible for spectrum were given 2G licenses at prices set in 2001.
Different aspects of the 2G inquiry are being handled by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate - both agencies have to submit a status report to the Supreme Court in February.
Raja's residences in Delhi and Tamil Nadu were raided earlier this month, along with those of former bureaucrats who worked closely with him.
The CBI claims that incriminating documents were recovered during those raids, surprising some who point out that the original case was filed by the CBI a year ago, giving anyone involved ample time to cover paper trails.
DMK chief M Karunanidhi has said that his party is not worried by the summons for Raja, a prominent DMK leader who is known to be close to Karunanidhi's daughter, Kanimozhi. Karunanidhi said that action will be taken against Raja if he is found guilty.
Despite CBI raids against some of the DMK's closest associates in Chennai, the party has said its alliance with the Congress remains strong. Tamil Nadu votes early next year; Leader of the Opposition J Jayalalithaa has already offered to tie up with the Congress if its partnership with the DMK hits the rocks. Today, Jayalalithaa said that Raja should be arrested without further delay.