The Comptroller and Auditor General, whose report on a presumed loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2G telecom spectrum allocation created a storm, is to himself appear before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee tomorrow.
The PAC, headed by an Opposition party veteran, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Murli Manohar Joshi, will continue with its examination of the controversial allocation.
Vinod Rai, the CAG, would amplify the probe body’s views before the panel.
The CAG report has proved to be big ammunition for the Opposition in targeting the government. It is insisting only a Joint Parliamentary Committee can bring out the entire truth; the government insists the PAC is empowered enough. It has led to a paralysis in Parliament’s functioning.
A decision to ask Rai to appear before the powerful panel was taken during its earlier meeting this month. The PAC has already invited views and suggestions on the spectrum allocation.
The CAG has quantified revenue loss to the exchequer at up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore, a development that forced A Raja to quit as Union telecom minister.
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The PAC has already taken information from the ministries of finance and telecom, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and experts on the sector.
In the last meeting, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura is understood to have told it that all decisions on spectrum allocation were taken by Raja and he only implemented these.
ED probe crucial to untangle 2G dealings
Enforcement Directorate’s probe into the money trail in the 2G spectrum scam will form a crucial part of the efforts to untangle the myriad financial dealings leading up to the allocation of bandwidth and developments thereafter, official sources said today.
They said the Central Bureau of Investigation roped in the Directorate to jointly probe the scam as various financial transactions and hawala dealings have come to light, which needed to be worked upon by a specialised agency.
The CBI sought the services of the Directorate on December 15 when 34 locations, including the premises of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, were raided.
The ED is now probing foreign funding and transaction records of all the firms raided by the CBI in connection with the multi-crore scam for possible money laundering and foreign exchange law violations.
The ED is already probing the role of two hawala dealers suspected to have been involved in certain financial dealings connected with the spectrum allocation.
“They (ED) will look specifically into possible money laundering angles,” a senior CBI official, who did not wish to be identified, said.