Chandrasekhar rebuts Sibal statement

Jan 22, 2011 |

Age Correspondent

New Delhi

Rebutting point by point telecom minister Kapil Sibal’s claim that the CAG erred in its report on 2G licences, Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday asked the minister to withdraw his statement.

“I will challenge the minister when he says that the CAG is wrong. I am not going to allow him to do so when the investigations is going on. He shouldn’t have opened his mouth on the issue. He should have allowed the investigation to determine what is right or wrong,” Mr Chandrasekhar said at a press conference here.
On Mr Sibal’s statement that there was no loss to the exchequer as 4.4 MHz is start-up spectrum for which there is no charge, Mr Chandrasekhar said that Trai in its recommendation in 2010 had said that without spectrum UASL, NLD, ILD and internet licences should together cost `20 crores. “Entry fee was discovered through an auction in 2001 where licence came bundled with 6.2 MHz. Operators valued the 6.2MHz and not a piece of paper. Without spectrum, there is no mobility. Fixed line licence is free in UASL,” said Mr Chandrasekhar.
However, sources in the telecom ministry maintained that the government couldn’t go for auction in 2008 as there was no such policy. “There was first come first serve policy so how can we go for auction,” said telecom ministry sources.

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