CBI favouring Tata,says Balwa

Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa,an accused in the 2G case,submitted before a court that the company was not an associate of Reliance Telecom.

Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa,an accused in the 2G case,on Tuesday submitted before a court that the company was not an associate of Reliance Telecom,a charge levied by the CBI. He also accused the CBI of deliberately not questioning Tatas,saying that it donated Rs 20 crore to a medical college-cum-hospital in Perambalur,at the request of the then Telecom minister,A Raja,making it a clear case of receiving favour.

According to reports,the Ministry of Corporate Affairs told the CBI that Swan Telecom,now Etisalat DB,and Loop Telecom were not associates of Reliance Telecom and Essar,respectively. If this is the position,then the trial and framing of charges be stayed forthwith, senior counsel Majeed Memon said. Noting that Swan Telecom was eligible to apply for the licence,he said: I did not conspire against Tata and it was Venugopal Dhoot and Datacom which elbowed Tata out of the race.

Even today,12 MHz of spectrum is available in Delhi circle. What is stopping the DoT to allocate the spectrum to Tata in Delhi circle which needs only 4.4 MHz of spectrum, Memon said,rejecting the CBIs claim that Delhi was the most lucrative telecommunication circle as it was at 5th place in terms of revenue generation.