A Raja's first exclusive interview on 2G scam: willing to serve life term, if ill-gotten money is proved

New Delhi: Former Telecom Minister A Raja today said he was ready to serve life imprisonment if a single rupee or dollar was found in any offshore account in his name.Replying to queries from Rajat Sharma in Aap Ki Adalat show on India TV, A Raja said: “I was arrested on February 2, 2011. On February 11, The Times of India carried a front-page story quoting CBI sources saying Raja was keeping Rs 3000 crore abroad. “The same day I went to the judge, showed him the newspaper report and said, I want to challenge Income Tax, ED and CBI if they find one rupee or a dollar in my name, I will not contest the case and I will live my entire life in jail.”Raja added: “In 2013, six months back, the CBI told the court that they raided me, my relatives and my friends, and they did not find any disproportionate money.”The former Telecom Minister, replying to a volley of questions from Rajat Sharma, claimed that he did not keep the Prime Minister in the dark about the 2G spectrum allocation and everything was done in accordance with the National Telecom Policy and Cabinet guidelines. “The CAG”, he said, “failed to differentiate between 2G and 3G. 2G is meant for voice and 3G is meant for data transfer. You can't compare PDS rice with Basmati rice. The rates will definitely be different”. Raja described as “odious” the comparison by Time magazine in its May 2011 issue of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi with him, as far as corruption is concerned. The list had put A Raja in the second spot among powerful people who misused their position to earn ill-gotten money. “It is unfortunate for this country whatever media wanted to put up as a biggest corruption or monumental scam, it is largely believed on the basis of assumptions and not on the basis of record. “I am not accusing any television channel or mediaperson, whatever term they wanted to use, let them use it, but my sincere appeal to them is, why do you want to call it scam, unless and until documents are there to prove that assumption is true or not. “They are comparing with Gaddafi. The comparison itself is odious. I did a revolution in the telecom sector. It is not unknown to history that a person who did revolution is often termed as a criminal or as a personal who did a scam.”Raja claimed that it was he who lowered the telecom tariff to 50 paise a call and raise rural teledensity in India from 8 per cent to 45 per cent. The former Telecom Minister, who is contesting from Niligiris, Tamil Nadu, this time on DMK ticket, said, he was probably a victim of some telecom operators, whose business was going to be affected by 2G spectrum allocation. “There is a complete institutional aberration. PMO is one side, Cabinet is on one side, Planning Commission is on one side, CAG is on one side, CBI is on one side, they are fighting each other and Raja is inside. Tell me the solution. “I am challenging through this forum. Let all these institutions come together (and say) Raja did wrong, Prime Minister's Office, Union Cabinet, Parliament, Planning Commission, CAG, CBI, Supreme Court, in all factors that were indicated in the chargesheet. They are fighting themselves. What can I do?”When Rajat Sharma asked why he was the only one who was being targeted, Raja replied: “Definitely cartel forces must be behind it. Those who were losing the business, of course telecom is very big. “You see the network. Rs 1 lakh crore, Rs 2 lakh crore per operator. I think that they might have been afraid of what Raja was going to do will have a complete aberration on the business network that was created by these people. They may be afraid of, (and) injected through the media, that Raja is doing this, this wrong.”A Raja in Rajat Sharma's Aap Ki Adalat show on India TV will be telecast tonight at 10 pm, and on Sunday (May 4) at 10 am and 10 pm.

A Raja's first exclusive interview on 2G scam: willing to serve life term, if ill-gotten money is proved

New Delhi: Former Telecom Minister A Raja today said he was ready to serve life imprisonment if a single rupee or dollar was found in any offshore account in his name.Replying to queries from Rajat

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