Throwing its weight behind former telecom minister A. Raja, the DMK on Thursday said his arrest does not prove his guilt in the 2G spectrum scam and accused Opposition parties of targeting him to “malign” the party.
The DMK’s decision to stand by Mr Raja came a day after he was arrested by the CBI with the party passing a resolution at its top decision making body’s meeting, presided over by Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi.
Accusing the Opposition of blowing the 2G spectrum scam out of proportion, the DMK said their only evidence against Mr Raja was the CAG report tabled in Parliament, which they were using to “malign” the party. The CAG had given a similar report during the NDA regime also on the issue, but the Opposition, which had successfully blocked functioning of Parliament during its last session, has again threatened to do so in the coming Budget Session, demanding a JPC probe into the issue, it said.
But when the earlier CAG report was tabled, there was no “such noise” from the then opposition, the resolution said.
The Opposition did not want the Public Accounts Committee, which normally goes into such reports, the resolution said, pointing out that the PAC was headed by a BJP member (Murli Manohar Joshi).
There was no justification for the Opposition to continue the protest as the probe by the CBI, which is under the Supreme Court’s monitoring, has intensified investigation into the 2G scam and arrested Mr Raja, the resolution said. It also recalled the earlier statement of Mr Karunanidhi that he would not hesitate to take action against Mr Raja if he was really proved guilty, adding the party was “an open book.”
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Prasar panel to probe Games mess
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI
Feb. 3: With the Shunglu committee brining out several discrepancies in awarding of broadcasting rights of Commonwealth Games, Prasar Bharati on Thursday set up a Special Empowered Committee to address the issue.
The board of the public broadcaster appointed a two-member panel comprising Prasar Bharati board chairperson Mrinal Pande and nominated member Muzaffar Ali to help create a mechanism to avoid such lapses in the future.
“The committee will take stern steps to address the causes of failures and pinpoint responsibility,” a statement issued by the public broadcaster stated. The committee will also be allowed to engage outside expertise to assist in coming to a conclusion.
A special committee was also constituted by the board to address issues related to financial procedures and accounting systems. The board directed setting up of a Special Empowered Committee.