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No violation of law: Raja

NEW DELHI: “I am ready to resign if it is proved that I or my Ministry went against the law or rules [in spectrum allocation],” Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja said on Friday.

He asserted that there was no deviation from the National Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP-99) in allocating 2G spectrum or issuing licences to new mobile operators. He would resign if it was proved that his Ministry favoured any company in the process.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Raja said: “The decision of issuing licences to new operators was based on the Cabinet-approved NTP-99 and supported by the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).”

Terming “completely baseless,” the allegation that the government would incur a loss of Rs. 60,000 crore by not auctioning spectrum, Mr. Raja said: “TRAI has never recommended auction of 2G spectrum. It has suggested entry of more players to boost competition and make telecom services more affordable. Telecom operators are also required to fulfil their rollout obligation that would help in improving teledensity, particularly in rural areas.”

The Minister said there was no need to change or review the current policies under the NTP-99 and the government could not deny a level-playing field to other new entrants. On the auction of 2G spectrum, he said: “It may not be possible as the service providers were allocated spectrum at different times of their licence and the amount of spectrum varies.”