2G spectrum scam judgment: CBI court verdict doesn’t vindicate UPA, CAG must clear the air

After the 2G scam verdict of CBI special court , a few obvious questions arise: Did the 2G scam even happen? Were the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) accusing the former UPA-government causing notional loss to the state exchequer, at best, a work of fiction? Did the Narendra Modi government, with all its political might and sleuths at its disposal, fail to make a strong case against the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats involved in the alleged scam?

What really happened today? Let’s try and find out.

Earlier, the Supreme Court (SC) took cognisance of the 2G scam, which is why it cancelled the allocation of 2nd generation waves (122 licenses) in February 2013 and asked the government to start the process anew.

Hence, by doing so the SC agreed with the CAG as far as the loss is concerned, although it differed with the quantum of notional loss. This was followed by a fresh auction process which brought revenue to the exchequer. If one looks at this aspect, the CBI court verdict doesn’t vindicate the stance of the former UPA-government stance. What has happened in today’s verdict is acquittal of the key accused: A Raja and others in the criminal aspect of the case ie taking bribes, transfer of monies. Here, the investigation agencies have been unable to prove the money trail. Thus the accused were allowed to go scot-free today.

In all likelihood, the Modi-government and investigators will challenge the CBI court verdict in the higher courts. Whatever be the case, the verdict marks a major milestone in the infamous 2G scam saga, one of the biggest blots on the Congress-led UPA government’s regime and a major contributory reason for its downfall in the 2014 general elections that, in turn, gave room for the so-called Modi-magic to begin, thrive and conquer the political landscape of Asia’s third-largest economy.

As is well known throughout the case trials, the prosecution relied heavily and primarily on the CAG findings. All hell broke loose when, in November, 2010, the CAG report on the allotment of 2G spectrum licences, tabled in the Lok Sabha, held former telecom minister A Raja accountable on many fronts for flouting rules, indulging in nepotism and costing the government Rs 1.76 lakh crore by wrongly handling the allocation of the 2G spectrum in 2008.

The major findings of the CAG report included Raja ignoring advice from all top constitutional offices, the government adopting wrong methodology for calculation of loss, lack of transparent process throughout, corporate collusion with politicians and resultant a notional loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer. All the subsequent investigations were fundamentally built on these CAG findings.

After seven years, when the CBI court discards the allegations citing prosecution’s inability to prove the charges, the logical question that arises is: Can former CAG Vinod Rai, who spearheaded the charges, still stand by the credibility of his findings or admit the government’s auditor went horribly wrong in opening a Pandora’s box based on weak presumptions?

As mentioned above, the CAG findings as far as the loss to the exchequer is concerned stands correct. This is the reason why the BJP leaders leapt forward to contradict the Congress claim that the CBI court verdict vindicates the UPA government shortly after they claimed a moral victory.

Indeed, the 2G scam has caused serious damage to India’s image besides causing panic in the bureaucratic machinery whenever it faced a situation where major decisions needed to be taken thereafter. After the 2G scam, India’s name was linked to scams and corruption on the world stage and repeatedly and ruthlessly dragged through the muck for seven long years.

The 2G blot, the corruption-prone image damaged India’s image in the international community for a considerably long and precious period when the rest of the world was limping back to health after the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

The bottom line is this: The CBI court verdict doesn’t vindicate the UPA. It has only acquitted the accused of bribery charges. The CAG will do well to the clear the air in the backdrop of the CBI verdict, particularly because the whole case is built on its findings.

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