Vinod Rai was part of a conspiracy against UPA 2: A Raja

Agencies
January 18, 2018

New Delhi, Jan 18: Within a month of his acquittal in the 2G spectrum scam case, former telecom minister Andimuthu Raja has in a tell-all book questioned former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "palpable silence" in defending the telecom policy that he himself had approved.

In his book '2G Sage Unfolds', Raja slammed the then CAG Vinod Rai saying the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General was "severely compromised" by Rai who had "ulterior motives" in over-reaching his constitutional function while auditing accounts relating to the 2G spectrum allocation.

Raja claimed that he had got Manmohan Singh's "approval to go ahead" for allocating 2G telecom spectrum to new players after he explained the whole process and that there was enough spectrum available.

Singh, he went on to claim, was repeatedly misinformed by his advisers and that telecom lobbies had influence over the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

"The UPA government's and even more so Dr Manmohan Singh's palpable silence in relation to defending my wholly justified actions" was like "silencing of our nation's collective conscience".

Raja also claimed that the former prime minister did not have any clue about the CBI raids with regard to the spectrum allocation.

"On October 22, 2009 (after CBI raided telecom ministry and offices of some telecom operators) I met the Prime Minister in his office in South Block at around 7.00 pm. T.K.A. Nair (the then principal secretary in the PMO) was also present. People will find it hard to believe that the PM was quite surprised when I told him about the CBI raids," he wrote.

In the book he termed the 2G Scam as a "shameful blemish on the sanctity of the administrative system of the country".

"It is my conviction consequent to the trial proceedings that there was political motivation to kill UPA 2 and Vinod Rai's was the shoulder on which the gun was placed," he wrote.

Last month, a special court had acquitted Raja and all other accused on charges of corruption and cheating in the sale of airwave licences in 2008 that derailed the-then Manmohan Singh-led government.

While CAG put presumptive loss in allocation of spectrum at Rs 1.76 lakh crore, the scam had led to Supreme Court cancelling 122 licences sold to companies.

While there "hasn't been a shred of actual proof of corruption", his telecom policy had led to growth in teledensity and dramatic reduction in call charges, Raja wrote claiming he fought against telecom lobbies to draft a just spectrum auction policy.

Telecom lobbies were dead against giving licences to new players and just when the policy draft was in its final stages, a letter from the Prime Minister's Office was received, the content of which matched the business interests of the lobbies, he said.

"It is still a puzzle to me as to what could have prompted the PM to send that letter to me. With all due respect, I came of the opinion that such a letter bearing the PM's signature should never have been sent.

"It is just not expected for the PM to get into the nitty-gritty of the operational functions, procedures and guidelines of a ministry," he wrote. "This makes me wonder whether this letter was indeed drafted by the PMO."

He goes on to state that "It seemed he (Singh) had been led to believe that there was something amiss in the functioning of my ministry."

Slamming Rai, Raja wrote the former CAG behaved like "a cat that shuts its eyes and then declares the universe is dark."

"He (Rai) had to foist his personal (or influenced) agenda by sensationalising information and creating the appearance of procedural lapses and financial misappropriation. His presumptive loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore has been subsequently debunked, but it became engraved in public memory and led to my tribulations," Raja wrote.

The CAG report, he said, was "essentially a mixture of inappropriate legal interpretations, incongruous comparisons and flippant allegations."

"Vinod Rai had the temerity to dub himself the 'Nation's Conscience Keeper' on the cover of his book titled 'Not just an Accountant' in which he dedicated a few chapters on the 2G spectrum allocation.

"He in his role as CAG was the 'sutradhaar' who created the devious apparition which the media and political opposition followed," he wrote.

Stating that a "conspiracy-nexus" cannot be ruled out, Rai's words and actions were "malicious vigilantism" and "disgraceful purchase of self-promotion".

Having written his book while the 2G trial was still going on, Raja demands that Rai "be called as a witness in the criminal case filed against me so that my defence has the opportunity to cross-examine and legally challenge him."

Raja claimed that Rai compiled his report with a motive of "riling up the public" and sensationalising the situation.

"It would perhaps have been in the public's better interest to investigate Rai's motivation to rush into this 'hunt' while almost blatantly ignoring the decisions and recommendations of TRAI, the Union Cabinet and the Telecom Commission! Even after TRAI's explanations refuted the views expressed in the CAG's report, Rai was not willing to correct his stand. It is ironic that such a person lays claim to the badge of 'Nations Conscience Keeper'," he added.

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News Network
November 22,2024

Mangaluru: A man fell victim to an online scam, losing Rs 1.7 crore after fraudsters posed as officials from TRAI. According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, the incident began on November 11, when the complainant received a call from an unknown number at 9:49 am.

The caller, claiming to represent TRAI, alleged that another mobile number registered under the complainant's name was involved in illegal activities in Andheri (East), Mumbai. The caller further stated that an FIR was lodged against the complainant for harassment under the guise of marketing. He was instructed to contact Andheri (East) police station immediately or risk his mobile service being deactivated within two hours.

The complainant was subsequently connected to an individual named Pradeep Sawant, who claimed the complainant was implicated in a money laundering scheme linked to the Naresh Goyal fraud case. Sawant alleged that a fraudulent bank account under the complainant's name was opened at Canara Bank, Andheri, and used to purchase a SIM card for illegal activities. He warned that the complainant could face arrest.

Later, the complainant was contacted via WhatsApp video call by individuals posing as Rahul Kumar (a police officer) and Akanksha (a CBI officer). They allegedly sent fabricated CBI documents to his WhatsApp number. The fraudsters demanded money to "resolve" the case. Fearing threats, the complainant allegedly transferred Rs 1.7 crore through RTGS in batches of Rs 53 lakh, Rs 74 lakh, and Rs 44 lakh between November 13 and 19. A case has been registered at the CEN police station and an investigation is ongoing.

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News Network
November 14,2024

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The UN special rapporteur for Palestine has slammed Israel’s parliament for passing a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian children, who are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” in Israeli custody.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a Thursday post on X, characterized the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.

The UN expert highlighted the grave impact of this policy, noting that up to 700 Palestinian minors are taken into custody each year, a practice she described as part of an unlawful occupation that views these children as potential threats.

Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”

She further criticized the international community for its inaction, suggesting that ongoing diplomatic efforts, which often rely on the idea of resuming negotiations for peace, have contributed to normalizing such human rights violations against Palestinian children and the broader population.

The comments by Albanese came in response to Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passing a law on November 7 that authorizes the detention of Palestinian children under the age of 14 for “terrorism or terrorist activities.”

Under the legislation, a temporary five-year measure, once the individuals turn 14, they will be transferred to adult prison to continue serving their sentences.

Additionally, the law allows for a three-year clause that enables courts to incarcerate minors in adult prisons for up to 10 days if they are considered dangerous. Courts have the authority to extend this duration if necessary, according to the Knesset.

The legislation underscores a shift in the treatment of minors and raises alarms among human rights advocates regarding the legal and ethical ramifications of detaining children and the conditions under which they may be held.

Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently in Israeli jails—around one-third without charge or trial. Also, an unknown number are arbitrarily held following a wave of arrests in the wake of the regime's genocidal war on Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Israeli regime, under the supervision of extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has turned prisons and detention centers into “death chambers,” the ministry of detainees and ex-detainees’ affairs in Gaza says.

Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalized across Israel’s jail system, reports indicate.

Over 270 Palestinian minors are being detained by Israeli authorities, in violation of UN resolutions and international treaties that forbid the incarceration of children, as reported by Palestinian rights organizations.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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