Ministers defend release of finance ministry’s 2G note

As the UPA government continues to battle a belligerent opposition slamming the government in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, law minister Salman Khurshid and personnel minister V Narayanasamy defended the decision to release the controversial finance ministry note under the transparency law. HT reports.

As the UPA government continues to battle a belligerent opposition slamming the government in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, law minister Salman Khurshid and personnel minister V Narayanasamy defended the decision to release the controversial finance ministry note under the transparency law.

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The note had implied that the then finance minister P Chidambaram did not stick to his position that the 2G spectrum should have been auctioned. Former telecom minister A Raja and several government and private officials are in jail on corruption charges in allocation of spectrum.

Narayanasamy, the minister incharge of department of personnel, said any document sought under the transparency law in accordance with the right to information act, had to be given.

Khurshid agreed to suggestions that the information law had been misused by some people in the past and had led to needless controversies.

“But you have to weigh misuse with usefulness of the RTI Act. We would like our life to be miserable than the life of a citizen,” Khurshid said, obliquely referring to the controversy that remained in the headlines for nearly a week.

Asked if this was the toughest birthday for the prime minister, Khurshid said, “the true quality of a person is known only when every step is challenging and tough”.

“The Prime Minister is a man with a grip of steel in a silken glove,” he said, describing Singh as very charming and firm. The law minister acknowledged there were challenges but “we are all here together”.

“We welcome any test that we are put to... we will come through. And we will give this country a government that this country will be proud of,” he said.