New Delhi:
A Raja will soon be questioned by the CBI in connection with the outsize 2G spectrum scam. Different aspects of the 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.
Reacting to the summons, Raja said, "I am not in hiding; will appear before CBI for questioning." The former Telecom Minister said that he was not an accused and did not need to apply for anticipatory bail. (
Watch)
Niira Radia and former TRAI Chairman Pradeep Baijal have also been summoned for questioning by the investigating agency.
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 licences at prices set in 2001.
Raja's residences in Delhi and Tamil Nadu were raided earlier this month, along with those of former bureaucrats who worked closely with him. So far, Raja's party, the DMK, has stood by him, though party chief M Karunanidhi has declared that if he is found guilty, he will "be thrown out."
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.