Ratan Tata

Nov. 26: Ratan Tata has said the government should bring in an auditor to investigate the real 2G spectrum allocation scam so that the “banana republic kind of attack” can stop.

Breaking his silence on what he termed “character assassination”, Tata told NDTV: “I wish the government would take a stand, bring (in) an auditor… and have an investigation (after which it can) book people who are guilty of something. But stop this sort of banana republic kind of attack.”

The interview, conducted by mediaperson Shekhar Gupta in his Walk the Talk programme, airs on Saturday.

Tata was upset with “the character assassination” that had followed the report of the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) on the out-of-turn 2G spectrum allocation in early 2008 and the circulation of the so-called Niira Radia tapes.

The tapes feature purported phone conversations lobbyist Radia had with politicians, journalists and industrialists, including Tata.

Tata said the whole objective appeared to be to throw a “smoke screen behind what is really the so-called scam which really is out-of-turn allocation of spectrum, hoarding of spectrum by important players for free and things of this nature”.

Tata was referring to the way in which then telecom minister A. Raja had issued 122 telecom licences in January 2008 to nine companies along with 2G spectrum at prices that had been fixed in 2001.

Tata made no mention of it but the CAG report had said nine existing operators were allotted spectrum beyond the upper limit as specified in the Unified Access Servicing Licence. All nine operators are established early birds in the telecom market.

The CAG report had said the department of telecommunications had no qualms about doling out spectrum to the existing players beyond the contracted limit without any upfront charges being imposed.

Tata referred to the Radia tapes featuring the purportedly tapped conversations as “unauthorised” but did not elaborate.

The alleged phone-tapping has always been attributed to the income-tax department but it has not been established with certainty if the interception had been done with authorisation by the government.

On Monday, the CBI filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying it had asked the income-tax department on November 26, 2009, to provide the complete recordings along with “the original permission letter of MHA (ministry of home affairs) for interception”.

The CBI affidavit details how the recordings were eventually handed over but does not refer again to the “original permission letter”.

Tata said he was troubled by the way the mood in the country had gone from exultation to despair in a matter of a few weeks since President Barack Obama’s visit. “It’s a murky time… I think it’s a bad time,” Tata said.

“Just a couple of weeks ago, we were sitting ... on top of a summit with President Obama showering praise on what we had done… talking of us having emerged and not being an emerging force. (Since) then, we have slipped into a series of allegations, unauthorised tapes… the media going crazy… alleging, convicting, executing.”

Tata deplored attacks on the “basis (of) unsubstantiated” (information), without considering “every Indian’s right, namely to be considered innocent until found guilty in a court of law, not on the street… not in this way.”

Ten days ago, Tata had said his group had to abandon a plan to float an airline in 1996 because he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of offering a Rs 15-crore bribe to a minister.

The Tatas had secured an approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to rope in Singapore Airlines as its partner in the venture. However, the plan was scuttled after the minister allegedly persuaded the then cabinet to pass a notification.