From the whopping figure of Rs1.76 lakh crore calculated by the Comptroller and Auditor General as ‘presumptive loss” to the zero loss claimed by Union telecom minister Kapil Sibal, there has been no dearth of figures in the 2G spectrum scam.
Now there is a new figure: Rs2,645 crore. This time the source is director general audit (posts and telecommunications) RP Singh, who said in reply to a query from an RTI activist that the loss from the issue of unified access licence and allotment of the 2G scam caused a loss of Rs2,645 crore.
In fact, its report, the CAG too had mentioned more than one figure — like Rs 67,364 crore, Rs 57,666 crore, Rs 69,626 crore and Rs1.76 lakh crore — but quite naturally the highest figure has been highlighted by the opposition.
Reacting to this revelation, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the party has been consistent in maintaining that the figures of the loss in this controversy, if any, are nowhere near the ones mentioned by the CAG.
“But we respect the constitutional institutions, and feel that the other other agencies that are looking into this controversy will come up with their appropriate findings,” he said.
Interestingly, the loss figure mentioned by the CBI in this case is Rs31,000 crore and it is reported that this figure came to them from the Reserve Bank of India.
Now this figure from another auditor will come as a shot in the arm to the accused who are facing trial in court, as well as the Congress that is battling these charges politically.
It is expected that the Congress members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the 2G spectrum allocation scam shall grill CAG Vinod Rai and his colleagues when they depose in this case.
