Reacting to the CBI Special Judge’s observation that the charge sheet against former Telecom Secretary Shyamal Ghosh in a case relating to spectrum user charges fixation was “filed for extraneous reasons”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the charge sheet was filed at the behest of former Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal of the Congress.
“Indeed, the officers are guilty of fabricating charges against an honest civil servant and others. There is no doubt that the charge sheet was filed at the behest of Shri Kapil Sibal, the Telecom Minister in the UPA govt.,” Mr. Jaitley said. “At the time when the Telecom sector was riddled with scams, Kapil Sibal selected a retired judge of his choice and asked him to unearth an ‘NDA scam’ in Telecom.”
Mr. Jaitley said, “An unsustainable charge sheet was filed against an outstanding and honest civil servant Shyamal Ghosh. The idea to attack the NDA was by including the late Pramod Mahajan in column II as a deceased accused.” While CBI officers would now face an inquiry, Mr. Jaitley added, “what about the Ministers who conspired to create a fabricated charge sheet and a retired judge, who, for the sake of a post-retirement assignment, agreed to lend his offices for the same?”
Congress national spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala hit back: “The charges brought by Mr. Jaitley are unsubstantiated. In this case, a retired Supreme Court judge Mr. Justice Shivraj Patil was asked by the then UPA government to look at spectrum allocation. The judge’s report was forwarded as it is without amendments for a CBI investigation. We challenge Mr. Jaitley to either prove the allegation or tender an apology.”
Mr. Jaitley’s attack marks a trend where ministers in the government have responded to court observations to hit out at the Congress in relation to past issues.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had held a press conference on the issue hours before Mr. Jaitley’s statement, and also attacked the Congress over the apex court’s dismissal of IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s petition a day back, saying he wasn’t acting “bona fide” and had been in touch with rival politicians and NGOs.
“He wasn’t present at a meeting held on February 27, 2002, though he claimed he was. Those present say no such instruction as claimed by him was given by the Chief Minister to officers. But the Congress deceitfully tried to project Mr. Modi as a villain,” Mr. Javadekar said. “The story, e-mails and affidavit of Sanjiv Bhatt were all a lie.”
A day earlier, another Union Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, had also held a press conference on the Sanjiv Bhatt issue.
“Indeed, the officers are guilty of fabricating charges against an honest civil servant and others. There is no doubt that the charge sheet was filed at the behest of Shri Kapil Sibal, the Telecom Minister in the UPA govt.,” Mr. Jaitley said. “At the time when the Telecom sector was riddled with scams, Kapil Sibal selected a retired judge of his choice and asked him to unearth an ‘NDA scam’ in Telecom.”
Mr. Jaitley said, “An unsustainable charge sheet was filed against an outstanding and honest civil servant Shyamal Ghosh. The idea to attack the NDA was by including the late Pramod Mahajan in column II as a deceased accused.” While CBI officers would now face an inquiry, Mr. Jaitley added, “what about the Ministers who conspired to create a fabricated charge sheet and a retired judge, who, for the sake of a post-retirement assignment, agreed to lend his offices for the same?”
Congress national spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala hit back: “The charges brought by Mr. Jaitley are unsubstantiated. In this case, a retired Supreme Court judge Mr. Justice Shivraj Patil was asked by the then UPA government to look at spectrum allocation. The judge’s report was forwarded as it is without amendments for a CBI investigation. We challenge Mr. Jaitley to either prove the allegation or tender an apology.”
Mr. Jaitley’s attack marks a trend where ministers in the government have responded to court observations to hit out at the Congress in relation to past issues.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had held a press conference on the issue hours before Mr. Jaitley’s statement, and also attacked the Congress over the apex court’s dismissal of IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s petition a day back, saying he wasn’t acting “bona fide” and had been in touch with rival politicians and NGOs.
“He wasn’t present at a meeting held on February 27, 2002, though he claimed he was. Those present say no such instruction as claimed by him was given by the Chief Minister to officers. But the Congress deceitfully tried to project Mr. Modi as a villain,” Mr. Javadekar said. “The story, e-mails and affidavit of Sanjiv Bhatt were all a lie.”
A day earlier, another Union Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, had also held a press conference on the Sanjiv Bhatt issue.
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