Subramanian submits documents against Chidambaram in 2G case

A Delhi court today listed the application of Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy, seeking prosecution of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G case, for arguments on January 21.

“Put up for arguments on the application for summoning of accused on January 21,” Special CBI Judge O P Saini said after Swamy placed on record various certified copies of the documents in support of his private complaint.

Swamy told the court that the documents and evidence which he has furnished reveal the “connivance, collusion and consent” of then Finance Minister in the decision taken by former Telecom Minister A Raja.

“This evidence reveals the connivance, collusion and consent of then Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the decisions taken by the then Minister of Communication and Information Technology (MOC&IT)A Raja in the matter of fixing the price of spectrum licence and in the matter of permitting two companies which received the licences namely Swan and Unitech in dilution of shares even before roll out of their services,” Swamy said.

The judge listed Swamy’s application for arguments after the Janata Party chief completed his recording of statement before the court.

Swamy filed various documents in the court, including a January 15, 2008 letter written by Chidambaram to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Swamy submitted that Chidambaram is “guilty of breach of trust of national security” as he did not disclose that Etisalat and Telenor, to which Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless had diluted their shares, were blacklisted.

“I have also brought on record the evidence to show that Chidambaram, is also guilty of breach of trust in question of national security for not disclosing that Etisalat and Telenor were black listed by the Home Ministry advisory,” he said.

Swamy, in his plea, has sought to make Chidambaram an accused in the case for his alleged role in allowing two accused telecom firms Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless to earn windfall profits by offloading their shares to UAE-based Etisalat and Norway-based Telenor respectively after getting the Unified Access Services Licenses (UASL).

Swamy, deposing as a witness in support of his private complaint, had on December 17 last year alleged that Chidambaram was also culpable like Raja as they were party to the decision of non-revision of entry fees of Rs 1658 crore, decided in 2001 during NDA regime.

Chidambaram and Raja, as Finance and Telecom ministers respectively, were empowered by a 2003 Cabinet decision to determine the spectrum price jointly and this fact has been corroborated by a statement of the Prime Minister made in the Rajya Sabha, he said.

Earlier, the court had allowed Swamy’s plea to re-open his statement in the case in view of the emergence of some new facts about the identity of other co-conspirators.

Swamy had earlier also referred to the allegations that Swan Telecom was allotted UAS licences for 13 circles for Rs 1,537 crore and it offloaded 45 per cent of its shares in the licences before the roll out to Etisalat of UAE for Rs 4,200 crores.

Similarly, Unitech was allotted UAS licences for 22 circles for Rs 1,658 crore and it offloaded 60 per cent of its shares in the licences to M/s Telenor of Norway for Rs 6,100 crore even before the roll out, he had said.