Former communications minister A. Raja Tuesday asked why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had not constituted a group of ministers (GoM) for 2G spectrum allocation and said Home Minister P. Chidambaram should be called as a witness in the case.
"The prime minister was senior to me, why didn't he constitute a GoM. He ignored constituting a GoM, is this a conspiracy?" Raja's lawyer said on his behalf in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court presided over by Judge O.P. Saini.
The counsel also said that Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who was finance minister when spectrum allocation took place, should come to the court as a witness.
"It was (then) finance minister Chidambaram who cleared the sale of equity in Swan and Unitech... So he is bound to come to court as a witness," the counsel said.
"The home minister should come in the court from either of the side, and be a witness in the case. When all the decisions were known to the home minister, then he should appear as a witness in the case," he said.
At one point, Raja, a lawyer by training, took over from his lawyer.
The DMK leader targeted former telecom minister Arun Shourie, saying if he (Raja) was guilty of a conspiracy, then so was his predecessor.
At the same time, Raja said he had no intention to implicate anyone. "Main kisi ko phasana nahi chahta tha," his lawyer said.
Raja's lawyer Sushil Kumar had Monday said the 2G spectrum transactions were approved by Chidambaram, who was then finance minister, in the presence of the prime minister.
The comment was criticised by the Congress, which said it cannot rely on the comments of an accused. Raja's DMK party had also distanced itself from this comment.
On Tuesday Raja said through his counsel that the media had misrepresented his statements.
"The prime minister was senior to me, why didn't he constitute a GoM. He ignored constituting a GoM, is this a conspiracy?" Raja's lawyer said on his behalf in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court presided over by Judge O.P. Saini.
The counsel also said that Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who was finance minister when spectrum allocation took place, should come to the court as a witness.
"It was (then) finance minister Chidambaram who cleared the sale of equity in Swan and Unitech... So he is bound to come to court as a witness," the counsel said.
"The home minister should come in the court from either of the side, and be a witness in the case. When all the decisions were known to the home minister, then he should appear as a witness in the case," he said.
At one point, Raja, a lawyer by training, took over from his lawyer.
At the same time, Raja said he had no intention to implicate anyone. "Main kisi ko phasana nahi chahta tha," his lawyer said.
Raja's lawyer Sushil Kumar had Monday said the 2G spectrum transactions were approved by Chidambaram, who was then finance minister, in the presence of the prime minister.
The comment was criticised by the Congress, which said it cannot rely on the comments of an accused. Raja's DMK party had also distanced itself from this comment.
On Tuesday Raja said through his counsel that the media had misrepresented his statements.
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