No issues with the government: Sarin

Just a day after attacking "vested interests" in the telecom sector for influencing the Indian bureaucracy and trying to derail its entry into India, Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin made a hasty retreat by saying that he merely wanted to highlight the speedy approval process and has respect for the role of the Indian authorities.

In a speech to a pan-IIT alumni gathering in Santa Clara on the weekend, Sarin had hinted that rivals influence the bureaucracy by saying that "I really do not expect people-the good and the great of India- to be calling cabinet secretaries and ministers to say 'you have to unwind this deal because we want a piece of it'."

The company, was eventually given the green signal by the Indian government to buy out the 67 per cent stake held by Hutchison-Whampoa in Hong-Kong-based Hutchison-Essar two months after the deal was announced.

Various issues on the violation of foreign exchange rules, foreign investment limits and clauses in the Companies Act were raised by different departments of the government.

In a written statement through his public relations agency Sarin said: "I have been concerned by the interpretation in some sections of the Indian media of remarks attributed to me at a pan IIT alumni gathering in Santa Clara in the US last weekend. "

He added that his comments about India were made in the context of the need for a positive investment climate globally and it is in that respect that he actually highlighted the speedy approval process for their recent transaction in India.

Sarin added "As I have stated in public on a number of occasions, we have great respect for the role of the Indian authorities in scrutinising transactions such as ours, in accordance with Indian law."

He also clarified that his remarks were directed only against rival telecom companies that wanted to delay the process. "My remarks were directed at attempts by vested interests to de-rail the approvals procedure."