New Delhi, Feb 2 (ANI): The arrest of former Telecom Minister A. Raja in the 2G spectrum scam investigations has been described by the Congress Party as the law taking its own course, and the arrest will not affect the party's ties with the Dravidia Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK).
"Congress had said earlier also that all such cases should be investigated and enquired properly and law will take its own course," said All India Congress Committee General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi.
"The development would not have any bearing on the relations between the Congress and DMK, to which Raja belongs," he added.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on January 31 to discuss seat sharing for the upcoming elections in the State.
Karunanidhi also said that the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) would be part of the DMK-Congress alliance for the upcoming elections in the state.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Raja along with his close aides - RK Chandolia and Siddharth Behuria -- today in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Chandolia was Raja's private secretary during the rule of the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government. When the UPA returned to power in May 2009 and Raja returned as Telecom Minister, Chandolia was appointed economic advisor in his office.
Siddharth Behuria was the Telecom Secretary January 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009. He signed on the files that formalized the sale of 2G licenses.
The investigating agency questioned Raja for the fourth time today. He was questioned earlier on December 24 and 25 last year and on January 31.
The Supreme Court has asked the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to submit status reports on their investigations into the 2G scam to it by February 10, when the case will come up for hearing.
Earlier this week, a report by a one-man commission, Justice Shivraj Patil, was handed over to new Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal. Justice Patil was asked in December to look into whether officials in the Telecom Ministry had, since 1991, violated government procedures and guidelines for allocating the spectrum.
The CBI in its first information report had mentioned the loss as Rs.22, 000 crore based on the findings of Central Vigilance Commission, which had referred the case to it.
Raja was forced to resign from Union Cabinet last year after a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum, and added that the government had probably lost Rs.1.76 lakh crore in estimated revenue. (ANI)
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