Telecom minister Kapil Sibal’s audacious attempt to change the discourse in the matter that has come to be known as the 2G spectrum scam is not likely to change the course of the debate in the public arena which has already claimed his predecessor, A. Raja, as its first victim. Mr Sibal is perhaps himself aware of this. At the news conference on Friday where he maintained that no “revenue loss” was incurred by the government — although the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General cites a “presumptive loss” of gigantic magnitude with three possible sets of figures — on account of Mr Raja carrying forward the policy of the NDA government, he made it a point to underline that the investigation into the corruption aspect, arising from issues concerning procedure, would continue apace. This is exactly right. The probe into the former minister’s actions cannot be allowed to flag. The minister from the DMK stables was despatched because something appeared seriously to be the matter with the manner he executed policy. The “first come first served” principle of spectrum allocation seemed to be manipulated to favour certain parties in connivance with unsteady members of the bureaucracy, the price fixed reflected the reality of seven years earlier, and the parties whose applications were entertained were not pre-selected for their experience in the telecom sector. These are serious charges. Even if the exchequer suffered no loss, as Mr Sibal maintains, the suspicion of corrupt practice in the episode has been strong enough to draw astringent observations from the Supreme Court. The focus, therefore, cannot be allowed to waver from the actions of Mr Raja and his associates in the bureaucracy and elsewhere.
When supposed wrong-doing in the 2G spectrum allocation first came to light, it was held in this column that pitting the huge revenues earned from 3G spectrum allocation through the auction method against an entirely different method and motivation of public weal pursued for the earlier allocation of the 2G spectrum to arrive at a sense of deprivation for the Treasury appeared a false comparison. Mr Sibal’s basic premise is just this, although it is surprising that he went public when the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament is now going into the CAG report which has made its “sensational” case — to quote Mr Sibal — of “presumptive loss”. The right forum for the government to bring its case at this stage was the PAC. The telecom minister’s argument that he would have brought up the issue in Parliament in the Winter Session if this had not been derailed by the Opposition is a case of superficial cleverness. The main purpose of the telecom minister’s press conference, and the government note on the spectrum affair that was circulated, is clearly to get the Prime Minister out of the line of fire. The way the story of Mr Raja’s term in office and his dealing with the spectrum case has unfolded so far, it would seem that while Dr Manmohan Singh cannot be even remotely held guilty of corruption, he permitted Mr Raja to flout his authority, possibly to avoid annoying the DMK and risk rocking the coalition boat. This is being seen by the Opposition as a serious failing. The official note circulated appears to string another narrative altogether. This is an issue that the PAC would be called upon to look at closely. However high the moral authority of the Prime Minister, the government’s first minister cannot go to sleep on his watch and permit a member of the government to engage in corruption in any form. Naturally, Mr Sibal’s reading of “nil revenue loss” has to be subjected to serious scrutiny but cannot be dismissed out of hand. It has to be seen if his compartmentalisation of policy and procedures is sustainable in the present instance.