At last the verdict for the sensational 2G spectrum case was announced, and the supporters celebrated and the opponents criticised.
DURING THE TRIAL
The Supreme Court, while monitoring the 2G scam investigation, had questioned the PMO for the long delay in responding to a petition by Subramanian Swamy seeking a grant of sanction to prosecute the then telecom minister A Raja.
The court had asked the government to explain why it took the PMO more than a year to tell Swamy that Raja’s prosecution would be premature at that stage. Then PMO official V Vidyavati had found that the paper trail on Swamy’s petition to the then PM Manmohan Singh went back to November 29, 2008. The SC was told a response was sent to Swamy on March 19, 2010.
Within days of receiving the petition on November 29, 2008, Singh had noted on December 1, 2008, “Please examine and let me know the facts of this case.” And then it went round and round from one department to another. Meanwhile, two more letters were received by the PMO from Gurudas Dasgupta and Suvarna Sudhakar. The PMO decided to bunch them with Swamy’s petition and requested the department of telecom to send a “suitable reply to both MPs and Swamy”.
The bench had asked, “The department of personnel and training letter terms the petition premature. Does this mean his (Swamy’s) right to seek sanction has not ripened yet? And did the sanctioning authority know at the time of filing the petition that there will be a CBI probe? We are on alleged inaction and silence. The outcome of CBI inquiry is totally outside his control. That is what is worrying us. Can someone’s legal right be asked to wait?”
However, after elaborate explanations by the then attorney general G E Vahanvati and the then solicitor general Gopal Subramanium, the SC had closed the issue saying, “We have no doubt that if the Prime Minister had been apprised of the factual and legal position regarding the representation made by Swamy, he would have surely taken an appropriate decision and would not have allowed the matter to linger for a period of more than one year. By the very nature of the office held by the Prime Minister, he was not expected to personally look into the minute details of each case placed before him and has to depend on his advisers and other officers. Unfortunately, those who were expected to give proper advice to him and place full facts and legal position before him failed to do so.”
AFTER THE TRIAL
What started as a tense day turned into a relaxed but hectic one for the 2G scam accused A Raja and Kanimozhi. With the court acquitting, all the accused, including former telecommunications minister Andimuthu Raja and Rajya Sabha member Muthuvel Karunanidhi Kanimozh in the multi-billion 2G spectrum allocation case, the two leaders started getting calls from a host of political heavyweights — including former PM Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Sharad Pawar’s daughter and NCP MP Supriya Sule. Raja was worried as to how long the 500 plates of biryani will take to reach his supporters gathered at his house while Kanimozhi got busy with attending calls and media interactions. Earlier in the morning (Thursday), a CBI court acquitted DMK leaders A Raja, Kanimozhi and all other accused in the 2G spectrum case.
At the courtroom earlier, supporters came from different districts of Tamil Nadu to burst crackers and “bring the roof down” in “magizhchi” (happiness). WhatsApp took the news back home to Tamil Nadu. Many came from Raja’s home district of Perambalur, many others from Ariyalur, Kanyakumari, Mettupalayam and the list went on. The men who came from Tiruppur, all staunch DMK party supporters they said, compared Raja’s acquittal with “Lord Ram returning after his exile in the forest. Just like Ram was banished for doing no wrong, so was Anna (elder brother) Raja.”
A Raja’s men requested reporters for privacy, and him to be “left alone” by the media. “He was tortured for years, made the scapegoat. They (media) exaggerated the lies, it is time to equally give space to the truth,” said V K Rajendran, who will return to Tamil Nadu Express on Thursday night. “All the poor have come today, on their own will. Not the rich.” Some supporters, however, claimed it was Raja who booked their flight tickets. Someone from the next door gave a note to media persons which said, “He wants to read the 1,500-page judgment fully before he comments.”
As for Kanimozhi, the day ended with a quiet family dinner. “I have always believed that I would see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have been waiting these last six years for this day. The last six years have been harrowing, to say the least,” Kanimozhi said.
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