Government responsible for 2g mess: siddhartha behura

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/telecom/government-responsible-for-2g-mess-siddhartha-behura/articleshow/9381741.cms

NEW DELHI: Former telecom secretarySiddhartha Behura, accused in the 2G spectrum case, on Wednesday charged the government with being responsible for the "mess", a day after former telecom minister A. Raja dragged Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram into the imbroglio for the second time.

"The entire government is responsible for the mess. My client raised the objection publicly and the government didn't listen to him. He was bound to follow policies made by the government...he did his work as a public servant to implement policies of the government. He didn't do anything wrong," Behura's counsel Aman Lekhi told CBI special judge O.P. Saini.

Behura began his arguments in the Central Bureau of Investigatin (CBI) special court by opposing the framing of charges against him in the 2G spectrum case.

His counsel said: "Behura had no choice but to implement policy. Let down by the government where will he go?"

Behura was arrested Feb 2 for alleged involvement in the 2G scam. In the chargesheet filed April 2, he is accused of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and criminal misconduct by a public servant.

Raja had Tuesday asked why Manmohan Singh had not constituted a group of ministers (GoM) for 2G spectrum allocation and said Chidambaram should be called as a witness in the case. A day earlier his lawyer said the spectrum transactions were approved by Chidambaram, who was then finance minister, in the presence of the prime minister.