Cong alleges 'big scam' in microwave spectrum allocation

The Congress Monday alleged a "scam" by the Modi government in the allocation of microwave spectrum in 2015 and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.

The party also alleged that it had caused losses of crores to the exchequer.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that said the government allotted the spectrum in 2015 on "first-cum-first-service" basis in contradiction of rules. This caused losses to the state treasury, he claimed.

On Thursday, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said every spectrum was allocated through auction during his tenure as telecom minister and will look into the anomalies pointed out by the CAG in spectrum allocation of 2015.

The CAG report, tabled in Parliament on January 8, said a set of Microwave access (MWA) spectrum was allocated to a telecom operator in 2015 on the first-cum-first-service (FCFS) basis in contravention to the recommendations of a committee, while 101 applications for ..