The government is believed to be standing firm on its stance that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India?s (CAG) computation of revenue losses in allocation of 2G spectrum were baseless, in spite of heavy criticism from several quarters. The government has argued that it could not remain silent on the ground that the auditor’s report was being examined by the Public Accounts Committee.
Kapil Sibal, Minister of Telecommunications and IT feels that the NDA ought to answer the issues he has raised with regard to the 10th plan document stating that revenue should not be the basic criteria while devising policy. Further, he said that the government will stand up to any arguement the Opposition may put forward.
The government intends to take its argument further by pointing out that the UPA-1 policy actually benefited the common man and there was nothing amiss in the first-come, first-served policy itself and that allocation of 2G spectrum at 2001 prices could not be a matter of contention as the 10th plan did not give primacy to revenue generation.
In so far, the Congress Party has not criticised Sibal?s views. Prior to this, Shakeel Ahmed, spokesperson for the Congress Party said that he did not feel Kapil Sibal was undermining the authority of any constitutional body. He did, however, make it clear that the Congress Party was not officially backing Sibal?s statements.
He added that Sibal would have the relevant papers which would help him strengthen his stand in case the industry had received the wrong message. Besides, he said that there was no question of backing or distancing from Sibal. As Minister of Telecommunications and IT, he said only Sibal could explain the logic behind his statement that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India?s (CAG) was baseless. The Party could not comment on the details of the report.
