The Hindu : Front Page : BSNL tender: Maran writes to Manmohan for probe

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Sunday, Jul 15, 2007
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BSNL tender: Maran writes to Manmohan for probe

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The former Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dayanidhi Maran, has urged the Prime Minister’s Office to conduct an inquiry into the allegations relating to the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s GSM 2G/3G tender.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said: “I firmly believe that an early enquiry and its outcome will bring out the truth.”

Mr. Maran began his letter by stating that he had “always observed the highest decorum in public life — a heritage passed on to me by my respected father [the] late Thiru Murasoli Maran and my respected leader and mentor Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi.”

“Finalised by board”

The letter, dated July 14, further said: “As a Minister, it was always my practice to stay out of the tendering process of not only BSNL but also MTNL. The tender, in question, was finalised only by the BSNL Board. My attention was always focussed towards larger issues related to the industry and policy making, so as to propel the growth of Telecom and IT in the country.”

In this context, he referred to the introduction of the One India plan, which enabled people across India to communicate at Re.1; the removal of entry barriers for national and international long distance service; and the increase of the threshold of bandwidth from 256 kbps to 2.0 mbps “at a low price band of Rs.250 per month.”

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