Says Pitroda had warned that officials were misleading him

Former Telecom Minister A. Raja said here on Friday that he was warned by Congress leader Sam Pitroda about something “mysterious” going on in his Ministry and that the officials were misleading him.

Ahead of the formal launch of his book 2G Scam Unfolds on Saturday, he held a dinner. Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan was the only notable leader from the party to attend the dinner.

Former Union Minister and ex-Congressman Natwar Singh too came. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Mittal stepped in for a few minutes, but left even before Mr. Raja arrived.

Mysterious moves

Mr. Raja said that he was a victim of corporate crossfire. He said his predecessor Dayanidhi Maran claimed no spectrum was available. “Officers were taken care of not to reveal that spectrum is available. I discussed with Sam Pitroda. He told me something mysterious is going on in the department and these people are misleading you,” Mr. Raja said.

Former CAG Vinod Rai was the sutradhar of the saga. Mr. Raja accused him of “malicious vigilantism”, and demanded a commission of inquiry to investigate the political conspiracy behind inflating the alleged losses, which ultimately helped the BJP capture power.

“I had warned Dr. Manmohan Singh that the bullet will not stop with me. See what finally happened in 2014,” he said.

He regretted that despite having so many lawyers in the UPA-II Cabinet they all failed to see this political conspiracy unfolding.

On the allegation of purported bribery of about ₹200 crore from Swan Telecom for making it eligible for spectrum allocation, he said the decision was taken on the basis of the Law Ministry’s recommendation. “The allegation was that Swan Telecom was not eligible and I made it eligible, thereby abuse of power. But I did not act on my own will. The Law Ministry gave its opinion affirming their eligibility,” he said.

Mr. Raja went around the tables shaking hands and warmly hugging the guests, even as his wife and the rest of the family sat at the back of the hall watching from a distance.