This Article is From Jul 09, 2011

Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam offers to resign, Moily rejects it

Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam offers to resign, Moily rejects it
New Delhi: In a surprise development, Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam today offered to resign, apparently upset over a government move to hire a private lawyer to represent the Telecom Ministry in the 2G scam case.

Subramaniam is understood to have spoken to Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily to make the offer of resignation but the latter rejected it, sources said here.

The sources said Subramaniam was apparently unhappy over a move to hire a private lawyer to represent the Telecom Ministry in the 2G scam case in the Supreme Court.

Subramaniam is said to have felt slighted by the move, the sources said.

The Solicitor General had in November last year come under fire from the government after Supreme Court asked it to file an affidavit on alleged "inaction" by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in preventing the then Telecom Minister A Raja from allocating 2G spectrum in a controversial manner.

Subramaniam had sought to be dismissive about it but the government has subsequently asked Attorney General G E Vahanvati to represent the Prime Minister in the apex Court in place of the Solicitor General.

Subramaniam continued to represent the Department of Telecom.

The government had also inducted eminent lawyer K K Venugopal to represent CBI along with Additional Solicitor General Haren Raval.
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