Cong members question Jaswant's role on license fee reduction

Congress members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee looking into the 2G scam on Tuesday sought to turn tables on the Bharatiya Janata Party by raising questions as to why the then Finance Minister Jaswant

Singh approved a proposal of the Telecom Ministry in 2003 on reduction in licence fee without examining its financial implications.

The Congress members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee also dubbed the controversial March 25, 2011 2G note as one "riddled with inconsistencies".

Department of Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan appeared before the JPC for the fourth time today in a span of three months.

While most of the opposition members were not present in Tuesday's thinly attended meeting, Congress members raised questions on paragraph 3 of the 2G note which said that licence fee for Universal Access Service was reduced by 2 per cent across the board in 2003.

According to the note, the financial implication was estimated at Rs 968 crore for first four years and thereafter Rs 885 crore per annum.

The proposal, initiated by then Telecom and Information Technology Minister Arun Shourie, was approved by the then Finance Minister Jaswant Singh on December 12,  2003 without examining the financial implications, the note says.

JPC Chairman P C Chacko told reporters after the meeting that Gopalan agreed that as per available records, the financial implications were not examined.