Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted to journalists on his way back home from New York that he had modified the terms of reference of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the spectrum issue, confirming DNA’s reports published on September 24, September 25 and September 26.
The reports cited documentary evidence that RTI activist Vivek Garg had obtained from the Prime Minister's Office and made available to DNA that then telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran had written to Singh in the matter, making the case that DoT and not the GoM is the best judge on spectrum pricing which Maran described as “spectrum management”.
Answering the question on spectrum pricing, Maran's letter to him and the terms of reference of the GoM, Singh told reporters, “Well, that was way back in 2006. At that time licensing of what took place in 2007 or 2008 was not on the horizon. The real concern of the government at that point was that we should persuade that Defence Ministry to vacate spectrum and that spectrum should be made available to the civilian economy. In the process we will make lot of money and also the economy would gain efficiency. And it is certainly true that one draft that was prepared did include spectrum prices and Mr. Dayanidhi Maran did object and he said spectrum pricing is a bread and butter and integral part of the rule of business of his department, and any case he said that a large group like GOM that we are setting up, is not going to be able to deal effectively with the complicated technical aspects involved.”
Singh also said: “And further more it was pointed out to me that there was a cabinet decision of 2003, which said that spectrum prices is a matter which should be discussed between the finance ministry and the telecom Ministry. And in the light of all that I came to the conclusion that my agreeing with Mr. Maran’s point of view would not amount to sacrificing anything, which is essential and integral to the success of the process.”
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)'s member of Rajya Sabha Brinda Karat said, in response to DNA’s query whether the focus in the 2G spectrum issue is moving away from the ministers to the prime minister, “I don't think it is really shifting of focus. Right from the beginning, we have been saying, the top leaders in the government acquiesced to obvious acts of omission in India's biggest scam.”
