In an open letter to Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata, Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar today said that it was the Tata Group which had benefited from out-of-turn allocation of spectrum. “The dispute between Tatas and Reliance Comm inter se on the allocation sequence cannot dilute the primary fact of bypassing other early applicants to this spectrum,” he said.
Chandrasekhar is a former telecom entrepreneur who built BPL Group’s telecom business from scratch and fought many wars on regulations before cashing out a few years ago.
Chandrasekhar’s letter seeks to convey the impression that the Tata Group kept quiet when it stood to benefit from violations of norms, such as when companies with fixed telephony licences managed get into the mobile space nine years ago. “Your positions in the recent interviews seem to be in stark contrast with the actual conduct, performance and position of Tata’s telecom companies,” the letter said.
In response, a spokesperson for Tata Teleservices, the telecom arm of the group, said Chandrasekhar’s letter was devoid of facts and just meant to sensationalise matters.