Ex-Telecom secy was part of 2G deals: Raja

Chennai/New Delhi: Union Telecom Minister A Raja today said former Telecom Secretary D S Mathur was part and parcel of all decisions on 2G spectrum allocation over which he is facing the heat from the opposition demanding his resignation.

"Mathur was part and parcel of all discussions and decisions. The note and file were also signed by him on November 7, 2007," Raja told reporters here, disputing the claim of the former top Telecom Ministry official that his advice for auction was ignored.

Mathur has claimed that he had recommended to Raja that spectrum be given through auction so that there can be transparency.

"I had also said that the spectrum was limited and therefore only a limited number of licences can be given," he told PTI in Bhopal.

Raja said suggestions on likely availabilty of spectrum were also useful in arriving at the cut-off date of September 25, 2007 for allocation of the airwaves. He did not, however, specify who made the suggestions.

Asked whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would ask him to resign, Raja shot back saying the question is 'fictitious.'

"I have full confidence in myself. Whatever I did, I did exactly in accordance with law. I will prove that these types of perceptions (his role in the scam) are wrong," he said.

He said the media's reaction on the issue should not be "unilateral and motivated."

On CBI inquiry into the spectrum scam, he said there was no probe against him and added that the law would take its own course.

To a query on AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa asking people to send telegrams to the President demanding his sacking, he sarcastically 'thanked' her for ensuring the revenue for the postal department.

Raja's ministry also hit back at Mathur today, saying the official had cleared the

files for issuing licenses as per existing policy.

Mathur, who is now now retired and settled in Bhopal, claimed that he had recommended to Raja that Spectrum should be given through auction so that there can be transparency.

"I had also said that the spectrum was limited and therefore only limited number of licences can be given," Mathur told PTI.

However, ministry sources contested his claim.

Internal documents showed Mathur's signature in files which said that applications upto a cut-off date of September 25, 2007 can be processed for issuing licences and Spectrum.

The order, the sources said, made it clear that any further applications should be dealt with later.

The cut off date had become a bone of contention trigerring accursations of favourtism at the cost of exchequer.

"In order to avoid any legal implications of cut off date, all the aplications received till the announcement of cut off date in the press i.e. 25-09-2007 may be processed as per the existing policy and decision on remaining applications may be taken subsequently," the file noting said.

When contacted on this noting, Mathur said "...this was subsequent to the decision that was already taken with regard to processing applications till 25-09-2007."

"Since the decision was taken, a decision has to be taken so that complications do not arise," he added.

Telecom Minister A Raja has been in the eye of a storm after statutory auditor CAG said that non-auction of 2G spectrum may have caused a revenue loss of up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.

Mathur, however, refused to comment on how all the new players or 121 licencees were given start-up spectrum of 4.4 Mhz within a few weeks of being allocated licences.

"How did he (Raja) do it, I have no idea, So I cannot comment on it," Mathur said, adding that there was not enough spectrum to accommodate too many applications.

Raja has been claiming that he managed to break the cartel of telecom players and managed to give 2G spectrum to new players to bring in competition that resulted in massive growth in the sector, besides lowering of tariffs.

(With inputs from PTI)