Govt: SC verdict on allocation of resources vindicates our stand
The government today hailed the Supreme Court's 'Constitutional clarity' on allocation of natural resources and had a dig at the CAG who had flayed the government for not auctioning natural resources like spectrum and coal. Auction ruling brings clarity: Govt
The government on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court's 'Constitutional clarity' on allocation of natural resources and had a dig at the CAG who had flayed the government for not auctioning natural resources like spectrum and coal.
Soon after the Supreme Court held that auction was not a Constitutional requirement for allocation of natural resources, UPA ministers termed it as a "vindication" of the government stand.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said institutions like CAG "might have perhaps unwittingly and erroneously interpreted the SC judgement relating to the 2G case and thought that all natural resources must be auctioned".
"The SC has provided Constitutional clarity today and we welcome it," he said.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in cases of allocation of 2G spectrum and coal blocks had said undue benefits worth lakhs of crores were extended by not allocating the scarce natural resource through auction.
"This judgement applies to all of us. It applies to executive, it applies to court to all other Constitutional authorities. There is no Constitutional authority to which this judgement does not apply and I am sure that all Constitutional authority will apply their mind to this judgement and proceed accordingly," Sibal said.
Terming the verdict as a "vindication" of what the government has been saying on the issue of 2G spectrum allocation, law minister Salman Khurshid said, "Today, it is clear that what we did was right, therefore, it is a relief... it is comforting."
To a query on whether the government will rethink its policy on coal block allocation in the wake of SC judgement, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said, "We will think on it in the light of today's Supreme Court judgement. We will let you know about the government's policy thereafter."
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said there was never a doubt in government that "there was no Constitutional mandate for auction."