The telecom scam solution
I am happy to see that a lot of people are raising their voice against the telecom scam. BJP has demanded a CBI inquiry. A PIL has also been filed by Arvind Gupta in the Delhi High Court which has asked the government to respond to the PIL in three weeks. AITUC general secretary has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the removal of the telecom misnister Raja, DoT secretary and TRAI chairman. According to him, the licences should be cancelled as they have been issued on trial basis (I was not aware of this) and reauction the 2G spectrum. He further adds that the government can change the policy under special circumstances (corrupt practices) and even the courts have ruled positively in this respect. In the case of Unitech, the government can also reject the proposed sale because of security reasons.
It is obvious beyound any reasonable dout that Telecom Minister Raja ignored everybody’s advice on the subject. It is also reported that Raja went against the advice of the RBI Governor Subbarao. He had written to Raja to “kindly review the matter and revert to us as early as possible with responses to the above issues. Meanwhile all further action to implement the above licenses may please be stayed.”
Raja also repeatedly ignored the advice of TRAI. In 2007, TRAI had had recommended, “In today’s dynamism and unprecedented growth of the telecom sector, the entry fee determined then (2001) is also not the realistic price for obtaining a license. Perhaps it needs to be reassessed through a market mechanism.” TRAI Chairman has stated that “TRAI has never recommended first come first serve for award of new licenses.” Also, TRAI had suggested that permission for mergers and acquisitions should not be entertained unless “rollout obligation is met” which also makes a lot of sense.
Raja even ignored the law. In 1993, when Doordarshan resorted to “first come first serve” policy for allotting time slots to private producers, High Court has held, “The basis of first come first serve for allottment of time slots on satellite channels is arbitrary. It is unreasonable, unjust and unfair.”
Raja also ignored COMMONSENSE which I think is more important. How can you give away something worth Rs. 100 for just Rs. 15. It just does not make sense. Valuations of telecom companies is common knowledge. Raja cannot even claim ignorance.
It is clear that somebody has made a lot of money in this deal. The licenses should be cancelled. Raja should be fired. CBI probe ordered.
avinash narula
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Hi Avinash, good writing.. I just wanted to know if you guys have heard anything more on the Spectrum scandal.. do you know what the final outcome of the investigation was ? Did any of the decisions get reversed ? I’m just worried Raja will go away scot free.
Regards
Deepak
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Avinash Narula Reply:
February 21st, 2009 at 5:44 am
deepak hi!
The last I had heard was that some legal PI case was filed. However, the government has given its blessings to the whole deal so I am not sure whether the deal will be reversed. As in the trend in India, all scams go through with none of the politicians getting caught with their hand in the till. So Raja will go scot free also.
I have realized that a common man in India cannot do anything. We can all keep shouting from outside but nothing happens. We saw the outrage against the politicians after the Mumbai attacks but do you think anything will happen? I doubt it. In fact, we will elect the same group of politicians and shifting the power between BJP and Congress or between Mulayam and Behenji Mayawati. I have decided to get inside. Unless we get inside, we cannot do anything. I have decided that I will contest the next elections and will fight the same with a website and blog. I have already started work on it. If you get the time, please visit http://www.vote2change.org. It is still work in progress. Do let me know if I am in the right direction and if you have any suggestions.
Avinash Narul
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Deepak Reply:
February 28th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Heyyyyyyyyy, thats good to hear… I’d gladly vote for someone who’s educated and can write a blog when the alternative is just high school dropouts and criminals, which seem to the traditional qualification for politicians!!!
You certainly are going in the right direction, I’d like to take the same direction myself but I’m certainly not ready to come out in the open with it as its still not accepted for common folks like us to get into politics.
Lets see what the future holds. You take care now, keep up the good work. Give them hell!!!!
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Deepak Reply:
February 28th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Avinash, I just checked out your site and realized that you are more than just a blogger/educated person – you are a scholar, someone who’s written a lot of books etc. I dint know that when I posted my prev message
This makes the idea of you sound even better to me. Your site looks great and the ideas sound good to me. I’m based in Chennai and maybe when the time comes for you to fight an election, I might be at your side just helping out – that is, if the recession hasnt made me jobless and penniless.
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