The 2G scam has been raging for what seems like ages now, embarrassing politicians, industrialists and journalists alike.
It's high time to come out with an A to Z of the whole controversy...
A for Andimuthu Raja
Raja has gone into a territory where no man or woman has gone before. He's been involved in the biggest scam in Independent India.
Our poor developing country suddenly seems very rich: Just one tender of one ministry could have scope of siphoning off so much cash!
B for Barkha Dutt
For years she has asked difficult questions on talk shows and interviews, while her channel has aired countless allegations against countless people. But when difficult questions were asked about her pro-Raja chit chat with Niira Radia, she showed that she could evade, stonewall and deny with as much aplomb as any other politician.
C for CAG
The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the one that came out with the Rs 1,76,379 crore figure in the first place!
This has been contested by people like Kapil Sibal, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. But it's been bandied about so much by the media that it has already become an iconic figure.
D for Datacom & Co.
In November, the comptroller detected companies that did not have up-front capital during application and issued show-cause notices to Datacom (Videocon), Etisalat, Loop Mobile, Unitech etc. In all, a whopping 85 licenses were granted!
E for ED
The Enforcement Directorate and the CBI will be probing the whole issue. There have been raids, interrogations and documents seized, but so far there have been no breakthroughs.
Recently the ED made a demand for more staff and offices as they are already tied up with the CWG investigations!
Image: Former telecom minister A Raja during a CBI raid at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday, Dec 8, 2010. (Photograph copyright PTI)
