‘Reveal letters between PMO, Raja’

India’s transparency watchdog, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the Prime Minister’s Office to release communication between former telecom minister A Raja and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in relation to the 2G spectrum scam. Chetan Chauhan reports.

Updated on: Jun 21, 2011, 23:21:23 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

India’s transparency watchdog, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the Prime Minister’s Office to release communication between former telecom minister A Raja and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in relation to the 2G spectrum scam.

In an order, overruling the government’s decision not to provide information regarding why A Raja was not sacked even after the 2G scam surfaced, the Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said the information should be provided.

“The appellant has framed his queries in Hindi and his queries are a mix of allegations and his desire for what the nation should be. The Commission has reframed his queries and after discussions with the appellant the reframed query in his application is being given to the PIO (public information officer)," Gandhi said.

Ashwini Kumar, resident of Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan, had sought information from the PMO regarding the basis for retaining Raja in the Cabinet despite the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation clearly pointing out irregularities in allocation of 2G spectrum.

The PMO refused to information saying it does not have any record related to the 2G scam.

Gandhi widened the scope of the RTI application by asking the PIO to provide information regarding charges of corruption against A Raja and copies of file notings or correspondence of the PMO in this regard.

A Raja had claimed that he had obtained clearance from the PMO before allocation of 2G spectrum, which the government had denied. The CBI had told the special court that there was evidence of "forgery" in altering of first-come-first-serve policy to allow some companies to get 2G spectrum during Raja's tenure.

But, the documents relating to correspondence between PM Singh and A Raja were not made public and the CIC now opened the window to releasing the documents.

The government has, however, freedom to appeal in the Delhi High Court against the CIC order and seek a stay. “A decision in this regard is yet to be made,” a senior government official said.

Raja who was arrested by the CBI on February 2 in connection with corruption in the award of scarce telecom spectrum is in judicial custody.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.