2G Spectrum Scam: No record of meeting referred to by Behura in 2G court: Sibal!

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July 28, 2011 / PTI, New Delhi / DC.

File photo - HRD Minister Kapil Sibal - Agencies.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal today contested the claims of former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura over a December, 2007 meeting held regarding entry fees for 2G licences, in which he had said the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram and former Finance Secretary D Subbarao were present.

"We have looked into records. The records show that there was no such meeting. Neither Chidambaram (now Union Home Minister) nor Subbarao (now RBI Governor) remember any such meeting," Sibal told PTI.

He said, "It is surprising that the then telecom secretary (Behura), who joined (Department of Telecom) on January 1, 2008, is referring to a meeting of December 4, 2007, when he had no personal knowledge of the meeting and has not produced any document to support veracity of his submission."

Opposing the framing of charges of corruption and other penal offences against him in the case, Behura told Special CBI judge O P Saini yesterday that Subbarao had decided against revising the entry fee of Rs 1,659 crore for 2G licences and if he is not an accused in this case, he (Behura) too should not have been put on trial.

"Subbarao finalised the decision taken in the meeting of December 4, 2007, that the policy stood approved and the entry fees (of Rs 1,659 crore fixed in 2001 during NDA's regime) need not be revised," Behura's counsel Aman Lekhi said in the court. Behura has been behind bars for the past six months.

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http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/northeast/no-record-meeting-referred-behura-2g-court-sibal-526

2G Spectrum Scam: Sibal denies Behura's claims!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, July 28, 2011.

Kapil Sibal. Fiel photo: V.V.Krishnan.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday contested the claims of former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura over a December 2007 meeting held regarding entry fees for 2G licences, in which he had said the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and former Finance Secretary D. Subbarao were present.

“We have looked into records. The records show that there was no such meeting. Neither Chidambaram (now Union Home Minister) nor Subbarao (now RBI Governor) remember any such meeting,” Mr. Sibal said.

He said, “It is surprising that the then telecom secretary (Behura), who joined (Department of Telecom) on January 1, 2008, is referring to a meeting of December 4, 2007, when he had no personal knowledge of the meeting and has not produced any document to support veracity of his submission.”

Opposing the framing of charges of corruption and other penal offences against him in the case, Mr. Behura told Special CBI judge O.P. Saini on Wednesday that Mr. Subbarao had decided against revising the entry fee of Rs 1,659 crore for 2G licences and if he is not an accused in this case, he (Behura) too should not have been put on trial.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2301732.ece?homepage=true

2G Spectrum Scam: Raja's Defence Argument is not Evidence!

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July 25, 2011, PTI, New Delhi / DC.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal today hit out at Opposition BJP for demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram by treating the argument of former telecom minister A. Raja in 2G scam case in the court as evidence against the government.

His comments came after BJP president Nitin Gadkari demanded resignation of Singh and Chidambaram stating that what Raja had said in court showed that the top leadership of the government was aware of all 2G transactions.

Raja told a Delhi court hearing the 2G case that Chidambaram, then Finance Minister, had told the Prime Minister that dilution of shares by 2G licencees to attract FDI did not not amount to sale of licence.

Sibal told a press conference it was 'unfortunate' that President of a national political party like BJP demanded resignation on the basis of arguments made by Raja in the court.

"He (Gadkari) should have consulted Arun Jaitley (senior BJP leader) or some other lawyer".

True, what applies to BJP, also applies to Congress; till the allegations are substantiated with irrefutable proof, it cannot become an evidence for Courts! 

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http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/rajas-2g-court-argument-not-evidence-sibal-883

KAPIL SIBAL-RCom SCANDAL: Don't link Sibal-Ambani controversy to 2G scam: Supreme Court!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: July 11, 2011 17:30 IST.

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court today refused to accept a petition against Kapil Sibal that accuses the Telecom Minister of bending the rules to favour Anil Ambani and his Reliance Communications (RCom). The court did not comment on the merits of the allegations - it has for now only said that they cannot be linked to the 2G telecom scam that is being investigated by the CBI and monitored by the Supreme Court.

A Public Interest Litigation or PIL filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan alleged that Mr Sibal arbitrarily downsized the penalty imposed upon Mr Ambani for violating the terms of a contract. The controversy lies not just in the allegations against Mr Sibal, but in his decision to use a private lawyer - Rohinton Nariman - to defend himself. That move prompted Solicitor General Gopal Subaramaniam to resign.

Mr Bhushan had sought to make this PIL a part of the larger case on the 2G telecom scam which has caused a political earthquake in India, causing the resignation of two telecom ministers, one of who is now in jail, and the arrests of some of India's senior-most executives in the telecom sector. The investigation is based on another PIL filed by Mr Bhushan.

01) He has done it again; the problem with Mr. Bhushan is that he always mixes up not so related issues into one and try to bring them all under one omnibus entity like, his friend and he tried to bring Higher Judiciary, Bureaucracy, Revenue Departments, etc. under 'Lok Pal', whereas it was, originally, conceived to act as a watch dog of the higher political officers.

02) There is, definitely, a favour done by Kapil Sibal to Anil Ambani owned R-Com, which act is an act of benefiting a private party at the cost of the public exchequer and thus a criminal act of corruption, on a stand alone basis;

03) If he had approached the apex Court to direct an investigation into this issue, probably, it would have acted on it, positively;

Full Story at,

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/don-t-link-sibal-ambani-controversy-to-2g-scam-supreme-court-118393

2G Spectrum Scam: Supreme Court to hear plea against Sibal today!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: July 11, 2011 09:55 IST.

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court will hear of an affidavit filed by Centre for Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding a CBI probe into the waiving of penalty by the Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal to Anil Ambani's Reliance Telecom.

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http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/supreme-court-to-hear-plea-against-sibal-today-118252

UPA SCAM TAINTED MINISTERS: BJP wants Chidambaram, Sibal dropped!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, July 10, 2011.

File photo of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal. The BJP on Sunday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to remove the two from his Council of Ministers as they were facing allegations - The Hindu.

Ahead of the expected Cabinet reshuffle, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to drop from his Cabinet Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal as they were facing allegations of wrong-doing.

“Prime Minister has made a clean image for himself, but his Council of Ministers is corrupt. Prime Minister must clean his Cabinet, and as the leader of group of corrupt Ministers he must show the door to those corrupt Ministers,” BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said in New Delhi.

He said, “It is well known that the Rs. 1.76 lakh crore scam (2G spectrum allocation) had willingness of the then Finance Minister (Chidambaram). A. Raja is out of Cabinet, he was one part of it (allocation). Second part is Chidambaram who is still a Minister. Country would like Prime Minister to take a decision on him as well.”

Mr. Hussain said, “A private company which was facing a penalty of Rs. 650 crore at Rs. 50 crore per zone was reduced by Sibal to Rs. 5 crore per zone. Who gave Sibal the right to reduce Rs. 50 crore per zone to Rs. 5 crore,” he asked.

Mr. Sibal has been accused of overruling his officers to bring down a Rs. 650 crore penalty on Reliance Telecom to Rs. 5 crore for shutting down its rural telephony services.

I don't think PM, Manmohan Singh has the necessary courage to disturb the Congress Ministers nor the Ministers, concerned, have the decency of stepping down, voluntarily, on facing Corruption allegations! 

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2216488.ece

2G Spectrum Scam: Cong as guilty as DMK - says BJP!

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• July 9, 2011 
• Correspondent 
• New Delhi / DC.

The BJP on Friday said 2G spectrum scam is “no longer only an ally affair” minister Kapil Sibal defended Mr Chidambaram stating that he had “no role anywhere” in the allocation controversy. 

The minister said opposition BJP’s demands for Mr Chidambaram’s resignation were a “conspiracy” against him. Referring to the events around January 10, 2008 when the 2G spectrum licences were issued, BJP national spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said Mr Chidambaram is also responsible for the government not taking the auction route and claimed this led to a loss of `1.76 Lakh crore.


The party said latest developments in the case show that even Congress is equally guilty as its alliance partner. Continuing with its demand for home minister P. Chidambaram’s resignation, who was the then finance minister, BJP said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cannot continue with his silence on the matter. However, telecom

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http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/bjp-cong-guilty-dmk-696

NEW TELECOM SCAM?: Telecom rules not bent to save Anil Ambani several crores: Sibal!

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NDTV Correspondent, July 8, 2011, (New Delhi).

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has described as “malicious, motivated and defamatory” media reports and a Public Interest Litigation that suggest he bent the rules to help Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications.
 
A petition submitted by advocate Prashant Bhushan and his NGO, the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, said that instead of penalizing Mr Ambani Rs.s. 650 crore for a contract allegedly violated by him, Mr Sibal has asked for Rs. 5 crore. Mr Sibal said the PIL was being used to “settle personal scores.
 
In May 2007, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) signed on to provide rural telephony. Companies are entitled to seek a subsidy from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for operating in rural sectors.  Mr Sibal said that Reliance did not seek this subsidy. The government is obliged to select the operator that asks for the least subsidy.  Mr Ambani therefore won the rights. 

Well, now that he has started defending himself of 'nil-corruption' in this issue - like he said 'Zero-Loss' to the exchequer as soon as he assumed charge of Telecom Minister, succeeding A. Raja - let him explain, why he waived Rs. 645/- Crores penalty against the collective decision of the DoT Officials.

http://prmadhura3.blogspot.com/2011/07/2g-spectrum-scam-mr-sibal-rcom-is.html

Full Story at,

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/telecom-rules-not-bent-to-save-anil-ambani-several-crores-sibal-163346

2G SPECTRUM SCAM: Mr. SIBAL & RCOM: Is another Scam Unveiling?!

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Photo Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapil_Sibal.

Reliance Infocom (RCOM) has switched-off of the telecom service "violation of the terms and conditions of Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) agreement and UASL agreement by voluntary, unilateral and unauthorized switching-off/closure of services to subscribers from USOF sites without any notice."  - in 13 Circle that it operates;

Department of Telecom (DoT)'s has assessed the penalty at Rs. 50 Crores per Circle and issued a show-cause notice to RCOM for a total of Rs. 650/- Crores.

But when the file wast sent to Mr. Sibal, along with a detailed explanatory note, on February 09, 2011, he simply dismissed the unanimous views of the DoT officials and reduced the penalty to just Rs. 5/- Crores - benefiting the RCOM upto Rs. 645/- Crores.  

Mr. Kamini Jaiswal, Sr. Advocate and General Secretary  of 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL)' has approached the Honorouble Supreme Court for a thorough investigation by the CBI, on abuse of authority by Kapil Sibal, to benefit Anil Ambani controlled RCOM.

01) With the next hearing on the Case due on July 11, 2011, is another 2G Spectrum Scam Unveiling?

02) Normally this kind of depriving of the public exchequer in favour of Corporates is stuck at 20% of the benefit to the Corporate, working out to be, in this case, Rs. 129/- Crores.

03) And 'Quid Pro Quo' need not be an immediate and direct cash payment; it could be future benefit or benefit to someone close to the abuser of the political power!

04) Definitely, Nation needs to know exactly why the Public Exchequer was deprived of Rs. 645/- Crores, with a stroke of pen (99.23% of the originally arrived penalty figure of the unanimous decision of the DoT Officials).

05)  While - on paper - RCOM got a benefit of Rs. 645/- Crores, who got benefited Rs. 129/- Crores??

Lok Pal Bill: PM under Lokpal: Hegde opposes govt. stand!

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PTI / The Hindu.

Lokpal panel member Santosh Hegde (right) on Sunday criticised the government view expressed by Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal that PM should be kept out of Lokpal till he demits office. File photo - the Hindu.

Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Sunday flayed the government’s stand to keep the Prime Minister out of the purview of Lokpal till he demits office, pointing to the possibilities of evidences being destroyed and also wriggling out by citing “error of judgement” in such cases.

“That (keeping PM out of Lokpal) will not serve the purpose of having an effective investigation because there will not be any trails of the misconduct,” Mr. Hegde, a member of the Lokpal drafting committee, told PTI in an interview.

If Lokpal were to conduct investigation after Prime Minister demitted office, there are possibilities of evidences being “swept clean” before that and there could be arguments that it was “error of judgement” (on the part of PM) and it is not a case of corruption, he said.

What is the the stand of Political Parties on this issue?  

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2117954.ece?homepage=true

Lok Pal Bill: Prime Minister should be out of Lokpal till he demits office: Sibal!

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PTI / The Hindu.

Union HRD Minister and member of Lokpal panel Kapil Sibal. The Government on Saturday made it clear its opposition to bringing the post of Prime Minister under the purview of Lokpal till demitting office. File Photo - The Hindu.

Government on Saturday made it clear its opposition to bringing the post of Prime Minister under the purview of Lokpal till he/she demits office and ruled out opening the conduct of MPs inside Parliament as also the higher judiciary to scrutiny of the proposed ombudsman.

“Within the government, we feel prima facie, the Prime Minister should not be covered (under the Lokpal). But at the same time we want to make sure that if he demits office, he should not be exonerated from prosecution,” said HRD Minister Sibal who is part of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal.

However, he said, the five ministers in the joint committee were willing to be persuaded to bring the Prime Minister under the ambit of the anti-corruption legislation if the civil society side gives a “compelling argument”.

"Not an individual but institution"............................................................................................

Judicial Accountability Bill........................................................................................................

[Reasonalble]

On Hazare fast...........................................................................................................................

[His assessment may be partly right but acrylic comments on Anna is not required]

Strong anti-corruption legislation..............................................................................................

[He should practice what he preaches, on using abusive langauge]

It doesn't appear there is consensus within the Congress and among the UPA.

This bill has been hanging fire for over 40 years due to the same bone of contention: the inclusion of the higher constitutional officials under its purview.

And anyway they still need to hold consultations with all political parties and also hold public consultation for arriving at a broad based bill.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2115789.ece?homepage=true