(Photo credit: Wikipedia)NEW DELHI: Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has declined to head the empowered ministerial panel on spectrum on the grounds that he does not want to be targeted over controversies relating to the manner in which 2Glicenses were allocated. He has written to the Prime Minister stating his inability to head the empowered group of ministers on spectrum.Pawar in a statement on Monday said, "Attempts have been made in the past to unnecessarily drag me in(to) the controversy surrounding the allocation of 2G spectrum... At this juncture, I believe my association in the decision-making process as chairman of the EGoM may further motivate vested interests to drag me in the controversy."
Pawar wary of engaging with Team Anna
With agriculture minister Sharad Pawar refusing to head the empowered ministerial panel on spectrum, the Prime Minister will need to nominate a senior minister to head the crucial ministerial panel that is to oversee auctions of cancelled 2G licences. The choice is restricted as home minister P Chidambaram has been warding off questions relating to his stint as finance minister. Defence minister A K Antony is a possibility but his ministry has strong interests in vacation of spectrum.
Pawar has been linked to 2G scam accused Vinod Goenka, promoter of Swan Telecom, but the leader has refuted any connection with allocation of 2G licences. The NCP leader's decision is seen as a defensive move as he has been at the receiving end of Gandhian leader Anna Hazare's attacks with the minister in April last year abruptly announcing his decision to quit a GoM on anti-corruption measures after a Hazare diatribe. Pawar had suddenly got up at a press conference when asked about Hazare's allegations and walked off after stating he would not be part of the ministerial panel.
Pawar has been wary about engaging with Team Anna and the decision to opt out of heading the ministerial panel on spectrum is likely to be aimed at ensuring that he does not become a target over decisions like refarming airwaves, auctions and reserve price that are bound to attract some measure of criticism and controversy.
He said the PM has agreed to his request leaving Singh with the task of naming a replacement. Pawar was named to head the EGoM on spectrum after Pranab Mukharjee quit as finance minister after being nominated as UPA's presidential candidate. Pointing to previous attacks on him, Pawar said, "...I thought it will be appropriate for me to recuse myself from the position."
The EGoM is to decide on further vacation of spectrum and to look into grant of fresh 2G licences in lieu of the Supreme Court decision to scrap allocations made when DMK's A Raja was telecom minister in 2008. The process of fixing a reserve price for the new auctions has been a contentious issue. Telecom operators have protested the regulator's recommendation that Rs 18,348 crore be the reserve price for 4.4 MHz of spectrum, an 11-fold increase from Rs 1,658 crore in 2007.
Edited By Cen Fox Post Team
