I followed telecom norms in 2G case: Raja

New Delhi: Union Telecom Minister A Raja is under pressure to step down following allegations of corruption in the 2G spectrum case and his indictment by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Raja broke his silence on Friday, telling CNN-IBN that his case was sub judice and that he had been following telecom guidelines.

A united Opposition has been demanding Raja's resignation and has not allowed Parliament to function for the last two days but the Telecom Minister seemed unperturbed.

"See the entire matter is sub judice. The matter is pending before the court. It may not be fair on my part to comment on the matter. But I must say one thing you wanted to know about the CAG report. I haven't seen the CAG report since it has not been laid before Parliament so far, but lot of news is outside. It may not be fair of me to comment on it," said Raja.

Raja maintained that no rules were flouted while allocating the 2G spectrum licence.

"The question of resignation does not arise. We will prove that everything has been done in accordance with (procedure). The New Telecom Policy 1999 was carried out by all my predecessors and by me as well," he said.

Raja also lashed out at AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa who has been demanding that his resignation.

"Jayalalithaa has no moral ground to comment. She is the only political leader who as a chief minister denied her own signature, She has no maral right to comment," he said.

The Telecom Ministry had on Thursday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Thursday, out rightly dismissing all CAG findings.

The Government states that the decision of not auctioning 2G spectrum was taken on the basis of National Telecom Policy of 1999 and all guidelines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) were adhered to. The Government also claimed that there was no merit in the conclusion that a loss of Rs 1,40,000 crore was caused to the exchequer because of the Telecom Minister's policies.

The affidavit also added that the controversial first-come-first-serve policy was actually operationalised by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 2003.

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