Raja Resigns as Telecom Minister | Andimuthu Raja scam | 2G Spectrum scammer Raja resigns
Number of View: 86
Raja Resigns as Telecom Minister | Andimuthu Raja scam | 2G Spectrum scammer Raja resigns
A Raja has finally resigned as Telecom Minister after being ordered to do so by his party. He has been under tremendous pressure to put his paper in the wake of allegations that he caused a loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer while allocating 2G Spectrum two years ago.
Raja who got the telecom portfolio after the exit of Dayanidhi Maran in 2007 and retained it after the May, 2009 elections, drove to Prime Minister’s residence late tonight to hand in his resignation after coming back from Chennai.
“In order to avoid embarrassment to the Government and maintain peace and harmony in Parliament, my leader (DMK chief M Karunanidhi) has advised me to resign,” Raja said.
After meeting the Prime Minister, Raja, told reporters that “I have tendered my resignation to the PM to avoid further embarrassment to the government and avoid disruption of proceedings in Parliament.”
“That does not mean I am accepting everything. I will come clean and I will prove that I did everything according to the law. I wanted to send a message across to the people. Whatever I have done is in accordance with the rules. I will prove it,” he said.
The resignation came ahead of tomorrow’s Supreme Court hearing of two petitions alleging involvement of Raja in the spectrum scam.
Ironically, Raja had told reporters at the Chennai airport before leaving for Delhi that, “There is no question of my resigning and there is no need for it.”
The opposition has been demanding removal of Raja after the government auditor CAG is believed to have indicted the minister for not distributing 2G Spectrum in a transparent manner resulting in a revenue loss of over Rs.1.76 lakh crore.