Scindia and Ramesh spar over satcom spectrum allocation | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Congress MP Jairam Ramesh engaged in a political slugfest over linking spectrum assignment process for satellite companies with the 2G case during the UPA tenure.
Scindia said the country cannot forget the “2G scam” – which he likened to a blot on the country’s history. “A scam that not just led to a colossal loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer, but also gave government-corporate collaboration its worst name, a.k.a crony capitalism,” he said on X. The telecom minister said spectrum in the UPA era was allocated via the opaque FCFS (first come, first served) policy, resulting in scams and losses.
“The Modi government prioritises transparency and public interest – mobile telephony spectrum is now auctioned,” Scindia said.
Scindia was responding to Ramesh’s post on X that linked the process of in-principle approval by govt to that of administrative spectrum allocation process during the previous UPA govt. Ramesh said the NDA govt has stated on record that “spectrum assigned administratively are also chargeable and hence contribute to revenue”, a position he says is contrary to what the PM has been proclaiming for many years. “Recall that the BJP reaped huge political dividends from the media frenzy generated by its proxies in the government over the UPA’s allocation of 2G spectrum by administrative processes rather than auctions. Fraudulent revenue loss projections and an overactive judiciary ended up doing huge damage to the investment environment in telecoms,” he said.
Ramesh said at the end of an exhaustive trial, the CBI court acquitted all the accused, stating in strongest terms the entire affair was built on “public perception created by rumour, gossip and speculation”. The exchange between the MPs took place as Modi govt decided to approve provide spectrum to satellite communication companies without auction through administrative process, but at prices to be decided to regulator Trai. Incumbent operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea have opposed administrative allocation of spectrum to satcom players where Elon Musk-led Starlink is also in the fray to launch services in India.