Why so long to scrap deal: BJP
Even as the government on Thursday scrapped the S-Band spectrum deal between Isro’s commercial arm Antrix and Devas Multimedia, the main Opposition appeared not satisfied with the move, as it asked why was the deal made in the first place and then why did it take so long to annul it.
Even the PAC chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi took a swipe at the government by claiming that the decision of the government to cancel the ISRO-Devas deal was “too little, too late” and said if the parliamentary committee feels it may look into the matter.
BJP spokesperson Nirmala Seetharaman said the people of the country should clearly understand why it took several months for the government to scrap the deal despite the space commission’s recommendation to do so. “Why wasn’t the deal scrapped (then) when the space commission recommended for its scrapping? There should be a complete inquiry and people (concerned) should give the nation the due answers,” Ms Seetharaman said while reacting to the decision by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to annul the deal on the basis of a recommendation from the space commission.
The BJP spokesperson said the party wanted to know why the deal was being terminated at a “critical stage” when it was to come into effect in a few months. “We want to know what went wrong leading to the cancellation of the deal. We can accept the commissions and omissions in the governance of the country,” she said.
Ms Seetharaman also wanted to know whether the government was allowing foreign firms to have a “back-door entry” into the fields where private firms have not been allowed so far. “The S-band of spectrum which was to be sold is being used by agencies like Coast Guard. It certainly raises issues of national security,” she said.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the decision Dr Joshi said, “This is what is called too little, too late. Just canceling the deal is not enough. The matter should also be seriously investigated.”
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