New Delhi:
Industrialist Ratan Tata and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia were both questioned on Monday by a Parliamentary committee that's investigating the massive 2G spectrum scam. Mr Tata was candid, while Ms Radia was evasive, said the chairman of the committee, BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
Ms Radia runs a PR agency; Mr Tata is one of her biggest clients. His company - Tata Telecom - is being studied for whether it received undue favours from former Telecom Minister, A Raja, who is now in jail on charges of corruption, conspiracy and forgery.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wanted to know whether Mr Tata and Ms Radia tried to influence the formation of the Cabinet in May 2009; the duo, who spent three hours each on their deposition, were also asked about their roles in landing 2G spectrum and mobile network licenses from A Raja, who is now in jail for gifting spectrum at throwaway prices to companies that were ineligible.
Ms Radia's phones were tapped in 2008 and 2009 in connection with an income tax case. The tapes were leaked late last year, and reveal her speaking to politicians, bureaucrats, journalists and some of the country's biggest industrialists, including Mr Tata. He has filed a case in the Supreme Court, arguing that his right to privacy was violated when the tapes entered the public sphere. Mr Tata told the Public Accounts Committee that his voice had been correctly identified in the tapes.
Ms Radia is alleged to have lobbied hard for Mr Raja to return as Telecom Minister after the UPA coalition won the general elections in May 2009. Her phone conversations show her working her connections to try and secure the Telecom berth for Mr Raja, instead of another DMK contender, Dayanidhi Maran. Mr Joshi asked her on Monday if this was true.
Ms Radia told the committee that some of her phone conversations had been doctored.
Among the questions listed for Mr Tata on the committee's questionnaire: "What made you so concerned that 'Maran is going hammer and tongs for Raja'?" and "Why were you so apprehensive of Mr D Maran becoming Telecom Minister?"
Mr Tata was also asked about why the Tata Group advanced a loan to real estate giant Unitech, enabling it to get spectrum and license in 2008 from Mr Raja. Unitech has been named by the CBI as one of the main beneficiaries of Mr Raja's scam.
In October 2007, Tata Teleservices was also granted permission to switch its platform for its mobile network - from CDMA mode to the more profitable GSM. Mr Tata was asked about how much his company paid to get this dual-technology license. The allegation is that Tata was granted this license for Rs 1600 crore, which was far below market rates and was based on 2001 prices.
Mr Tata reportedly told the committee that he did not offer anyone any bribes; nor did he attempt to influence the shape of the government. He said he had "a chemistry problem" with Mr Maran, who was Telecom Minister till May 2007, when Mr Raja replaced him. The industrialists said applications by his company lay unprocessed for 80 days. Mr Tata acknowledged that in November 2007, he wrote a letter to Mr Raja's party chief, M Karunanidhi, praising the new minister. The committee suggested that it might have been more appropriate to send a letter of that nature to the Prime Minister. Mr Tata said he had not leaked the letter to the press.