During an interaction with the media, the former telecom minister said, “The government has itself estimated that 5G would be sold up to 5 lakh crore. But now 5G has been auctioned for only 1.5 lakh crore.”
CHENNAI: Former Union Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja, also known as A Raja, was investigated for the grant of 2G spectrum licenses in 2007. What was then regarded as one of India’s biggest scams, and spent 15 months in jail before his acquittal in 2017, on Wednesday demanded a probe into the 5G spectrum auction, that ended this week, his comeback to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that led a bitter campaign against him over the 2G spectrum case?
During an interaction with the media, the former telecom minister said, “The government has itself estimated that 5G would be sold up to 5 lakh crore. But now 5G has been auctioned for only 1.5 lakh crore.”
The DMK leader further said, “Where has the money gone? Where has the mistake taken place? This current government should investigate this,” said Raja, who was once considered the face of what came to be known as the 2G scam after the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office led by Vinod Rai alleged that the 2G allocation process in 2007-08 caused a presumptive loss of ₹1.76 lakh crore.
Mr. Raja was accused of rigging the allocation of the 2G mobile spectrum which led to his resignation and contributed to turning a public mood against the then UPA government. In 2017, Raja and 34 others, who were charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, were acquitted by a Delhi court which held that CBI “miserably failed to prove any charge against any of the accused, made in its well-choreographed charge sheet.
On Wednesday, Mr. Raja told the media that when he recommended 30MHz allocation to TRAI, the then CAG Vinod Rai in 2010 said that it would lead to a loss of 1.76 lakh crore to the government. “And the bid received now for 51 GHz of 5G, which is so much more efficient, fast, and expensive, is sold for a lesser amount,” Mr. Raja said.
The 5G spectrum auction concluded on August 1. The telecom ministry has said that 5G will roll out in India by October 2022.
Netizens on Twitter have been alleging a 5G spectrum scam, one of the users said, “5G SPECTRUM SCAM #BJP_Vendetta_Exposed The alleged biggest 5G scam by BJP Govt in Indian history! Definitely the #5G value is 3 times more than #2G ₹28,00,00,00,00,000 72.8 lakh crore corruption of BJP govt.”
5G SPECTRUM SCAM#BJP_Vendetta_Exposed
The alleged biggest 5G scam by BJP Govt in Indian history!
Definitely the #5G value is 3 times more than #2G
₹28,00,00,00,00,000
72.8 lakh crore corruption of BJP govt.#5G_Scam_Bjp pic.twitter.com/9j4KTTg2Bc— Sunitajadhav (@sunmor2901) August 4, 2022
Another user said “Manmohan Singh had sold 2G spectrum for 1.76 lakh crores. Modi Ji is selling 5G spectrum for 1.5 lakh crores the public decide for themselves who is doing the scam.”
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