By IANS,
New Delhi: In a fresh twist to the 2G spectrum controversy, the Congress Wednesday said Bharatiya Janata Party leader (BJP) Murli Manohar Joshi had opposed auction of the spectrum and accused the opposition party of double standards on the issue.
Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi quoted from the letter written by Joshi, who was then chairman of the standing committee on commerce, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in December 2007, in which Joshi had said: “Some Operators have suggested that spectrum should be auctioned, which means that there could a case of hoarding/cartelization to the detriment of BSNL and MTNL.”
In the letter marked “confidential”, Joshi said: “I would, therefore, request you to protect the interests of our PSUs and of genuine players. Perhaps this can be achieved by ensuring a level-playing field through a licensing policy that earns revenue for the government, unearths excess spectrum being used without meeting social obligations, and protects the interests of PSUs.”
Alvi said it is unfortunate that while Joshi had spoken against auction, his party levels all kinds of allegations against the United Progressive Alliance on the 2G spectrum issue.
“It is surprising BJP says something else while a senior leader of the party, who currently heads PAC examining the 2G issue, had said something else through his letter,” Alvi said.