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Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led government over its decision to allocate spectrum for satellite-based communications through administrative processes rather than auctions.
Jairam Ramesh accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of double standards, highlighting how the party had previously reaped political benefits by opposing similar practices during the UPA tenure. "The BJP built an entire propaganda machine to discredit the UPA over administrative spectrum allocation. Today, they are doing exactly the same thing," Ramesh said in a post on X. He also referred to the acquittal of all accused in the 2G case by a CBI court, which had dismissed the charges as being based on "rumour, gossip, and speculation." The court had criticised the government's chargesheet for its reliance on "misreading, selective reading, and out-of-context reading" of records, declaring there was no evidence of criminality. Ramesh argued that the BJP's current decision undermines its previous claims of advocating transparency and fairness through auctions. In a post on X, Ramesh wrote, "A parliamentary question has confirmed that the Modi government has decided to assign spectrum for satellite-based communications administratively, without auctions, despite demands from many sections. The government has stated on the record that 'spectrum assigned administratively are also chargeable and hence contribute to revenue,' a position contrary to what the PM has been loudly proclaiming for many years." He added, "Recall that the BJP reaped huge political dividends from the media frenzy generated by its proxies in the government over the UPA's allocation of 2G spectrum by administrative processes rather than auctions. Fraudulent revenue loss projections and an overactive judiciary ended up doing huge damage to the investment environment in telecoms." The post further stated, "Yet, at the end of an exhaustive trial, the CBI court acquitted all the accused, stating in the strongest terms that the entire affair was built on 'public perception created by rumour, gossip and speculation.' The judgement stated that 'there is no evidence on the record produced before the Court indicating any criminality in the acts allegedly committed by the accused' and that the government's chargesheet was 'based mainly on a misreading, selective reading, non-reading and out-of-context reading of the official record.'" "This is the reality of the Modi government and its propaganda machine--of its cronies, for its cronies, and by its cronies," Ramesh concluded. The move, confirmed through a parliamentary response, has drawn criticism for contradicting the BJP's earlier stance on spectrum allocation--a stance that was pivotal in the political narrative against the UPA government during the 2G spectrum controversy. The controversy has reignited debates over spectrum allocation policies and their implications for the telecom and satellite communication sectors, with opposition parties questioning the BJP's consistency and motives. (ANI)
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