Contends his association with decision-making may motivate vested elements
The spectrum allocation issue continues to be a hot potato for the
Centre with the newly-appointed chairman of the Empowered Group of
Ministers (EGoM) on Telecom, Sharad Pawar, recusing himself on Monday
from the high-powered body to stay out of controversy.
In a statement issued here, he said he had communicated his decision to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has “agreed” to relieve him from the
responsibility.
Mr. Pawar was given the charge of the EGoM, after Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee, who headed it, stepped down as he became the United
Progressive Alliance’s Presidential candidate. Apparently, Mr. Pawar was
entrusted with the responsibility as he is the senior-most Minister in
the Cabinet.
The first inkling of his intention came when he postponed the debut meeting of the panel under him slated for Monday afternoon.
The panel was scheduled to meet on June 21 to decide on spectrum pricing
and related issues but was deferred as Mr. Mukherjee ostensibly did not
want to sit on judgement over such an important issue as he was
entering the Presidential race.
“Attempts have been made in the past to unnecessarily drag me into the
[2G spectrum] controversy,” Mr. Pawar said. “The allegations were false
and motivated and I had refuted them strongly.”
He said he was not connected with any decision-making process in the
allocation of 2G spectrum either in his personal capacity or official
one. At this juncture, his association with the decision-making process
(as chairman of the EGoM) may further motivate vested elements. “As
such, I thought it would be appropriate for me to recuse myself from the
position of the Chairman of the EGoM…”
In April last, Mr. Pawar quit as head of the EGoM on corruption after
protests from social activist Anna Hazare. He now heads the EGoM on
Pharmaceuticals and is member of several other Group of Ministers.
The EGoM is mandated to look into the entire gamut of issues, including
the pricing and vacation of spectrum, the grant of licence and the
allocation of spectrum in 2G band in 22 service areas. In February 2012,
the Supreme Court cancelled 122 2G licences issued during the tenure of
A. Raja and directed the Centre to complete the spectrum auction by
August 31. At the height of the 2G controversy, the names of Mr. Pawar’s
family members were sought to be linked to the DB Group-promoted Swan
Telecom, a beneficiary of the spectrum allocated by Mr. Raja in 2008.
The Prime Minister will have to begin a new search for a suitable Minister to head the important panel.
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