New Delhi: In an interview after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started looking into an alleged swindle on allocating telecom licences and radio spectrum, telecommunications minister A. Raja came out fighting against charges that question his role in the controversy. Edited excerpts:
You have been a minister who introduced more competition in the telecom sector. But it has been accompanied by a lot of controversy. How do you feel about it? Do you feel rewarded or do you feel pain for your efforts?
It is not a question of whether it is painful or of feeling rewarded. I do feel that I did my job according to my conscience and according to law established in the department. When I assumed charge as the telecom minister, my categorical assurance that was given to the people at large, even in Parliament as well, is that I will follow Trai (Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India) recommendations, bring competition, reduce tariffs and increase rural tele-density. You have seen the tangible reduction of tariffs and how rural tele-density is coming up. As I promised earlier, local call rates will fall to zero paisa per minute and domestic long distance calls will be 25 paise per minute.
There are several issues that are consistently thrown at the department of telecommunications (DoT) that of the first-come, first-served policy and that the 1 October 2007, deadline was suddenly advanced by five days. It is also said that DoT cherry-picked from Trai recommendations. What do you have to say to that?
Fighting fit: Telecommunications minister A. Raja. PIB
Some Trai recommendations need to be consulted with the industry and other stakeholders. You cannot say that whatever recommendations are given by Trai can be implemented at once. Some recommendations may need urgency in being implemented. Maybe a few recommendations are still pending where industry is not accepting it.
I can share with you the issue of the termination of the access deficit charge. I think this has to be revisited. But when you are revisiting, then controversy definitely comes in because someone’s interest is going to be put at stake. So in such cases, industry should not be divided. Ultimately, there should not be any strike or unrest in the industry. When there is unrest, you cannot have growth. So, foreseeing all these things, one or two Trai recommendations are still being debated in the ministry. That does not mean the telecom ministry or minister is doing cherry-picking. That is not correct.
But what about first-come, first-served?