Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Friday came out strongly in support of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that the PM was in no way involved in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Moreover, Mr Pawar on Friday said that the Supreme Court’s decision on the 2G spectrum allocation scam will most certainly slow down the decision-making process of the government. He went on to add that all parties will now take a very cautious approach to the allotment of any kind of permissions. “We need some time to think about this verdict, but as a minister my first reaction was to stop the allotment of permissions to individual parties. We have to think of some alternative method, one has to take a more cautious approach now even if it delays the decision-making process,” Mr Pawar said.
He also added that the fallout of the decision may also destabilise the system as a whole but will not really pose a threat to the UPA government.
Mr Pawar is practically the first Union minister to express direct support to the PM, after the Supreme Court’s decision of cancelling 122 licences in the 2G scam. He pointed out that even the Supreme Court had in no way indicted the PM’s involvement in the scam.
At a time when even Congress leaders are playing the wait-and-watch game, Mr Pawar’s coming out openly in support of the PM is seen as a tactical move by many political observers. “In fact, a letter written by the PM on November 27, 2007 to the then communications minister A. Raja asking him to ensure transparency proves that he did his part,” said Mr Pawar. He added that the judgment also said that despite the communication the minister did not bother to heed the advise of the PM in the allocation of spectrum.