It's for Congress high command to take note of Jayalalithaa's offer: PM
On Board Air India One:Commenting on the 2G spectrum scam surrounding
Information Technology and Communication Minister A. Raja, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said it would not be proper to comment on the issue when Parliament is in session, and added that it is for the Congress high command to take note of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J Jayalalithaa's offer. On Wednesday, Jayalalithaa had said that if the Congress sacks Raja, she is ready
to offer her support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition. Raja,
according to the AIADMK chief, has committed the mother of all scams, and therefore,
he needs to be dismissed. The Prime Minister, who returned to India from the G-20
summit in South Korea, late night on Friday told reporters on board Air India
One: "Parliament is in session. It is not proper for me to comment on a subject
which is also probably in the court." "This is a subject I am hearing for the
first time. It is for the Congress high command to take note of it. I don't know
what Dr Jayalalithaa has offered," he added. Dr Singh, however, said: "We are
in alliance with DMK and that alliance stands as of now." Union Law and Justice
Minister M Veerappa Moily also came out in Raja's defence on Friday, saying the
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the Spectrum allocation cannot
be termed as an 'indictment'. "The matter is before the Supreme Court. The CAG
findings are not final. The Telecom Ministry will be given the opportunity to
answer the question raised by CAG...till that is done, you cannot say that CAG
findings are final and there is conclusive evidence," said Veerappa Moily. The
Law Minister further said the CAG had raised similar queries when Pramod Mahajan
was the Communications Minister in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government.
The 2G spectrum allocations caused an alleged loss of Rs1.76 lakh crore to the
Government, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has stated in a
damning report. The report further states that Raja had no apparent logical or
valid reasons to ignore the advice of the Law and Finance Ministries while allocating
telecom spectrum to several firms in 2007-08. The report is likeair rifle event,
while the men's team finished fifth in the 50 metre pistol event earlier today.
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal also registered convincing victory in the opening match
today defeating Indonesia's Adriyanti Firdasari 21-16 21-17 in straight sets.
