Chidambaram in 2G net, SC to decide on CBI probe

The Supreme Court is expected to decide, Today, whether a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe is needed into what Subramanian Swamy alleges to be the role of P Chidambaram in deciding the price of 2G spectrum allocations.

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy had indicated that Home Minister P Chidambaram, as the then finance minister, was along with jailed former communications minister A Raja involved in deciding the 2G spectrum price.

The documents filed by Swamy included a communication of Jan 30, 2008, by the department of economic affairs of the finance ministry recording the gist of the meeting between the then finance minister Chidambaram and Raja.

The communication signed by the then finance secretary D Subbarao said: "The FM (finance minister) said that for now we are not seeking to revisit the current regimes for entry fee or revenue sharing."

Subbarao also recorded the finance minister's suggestion that "keeping in view lessons of experience, allotment of licences and allocation of spectrum must be based on solid legal grounds".

Swamy told the court that all along, on the question of 2G spectrum pricing, the then finance minister and his ministry's officials were kept in the loop.

He pointed to various letters and internal communications and said that April 21, 2008, the then finance minister sent a "non-paper" to the communications minister, conveying that an "in principle" decision may be taken to price the spectrum beyond 4.4 MHz as has been suggested by the department of telecommunications (DoT).

The government and the CBI have opposed a CBI probe into Chidambaram’s role. They are of the view that, as a special trial court is besieged of the matter, the SC should not order a CBI probe at this juncture.

Meanwhile, in a new twist to the second generation (2G) spectrum case, a note to the Prime Minister's Office from the finance ministry says this resource could have auctioned in 2008 if Home Minister P Chidambaram, then the finance minister, had "stuck to his stand".

In the note, the finance ministry says Chidambaram could have prevented spectrum from being given away at throwaway prices by insisting on its auction -- alluding that presumptive losses worth thousands of crores could have thus been avoided.

The note, which was apparently shown to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and accessed by way by an application under the Right to Information Act, was prepared by a deputy secretary in the finance ministry and sent to the Prime Minister's Office March 25.