Reliance boss Anil Ambani, Essar CEO Prashant Ruia quizzed after PM nod

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who declared on Wednesday that wrongdoers won’t be spared, summoned the CBI chief and gave him the nod to interrogate anybody high and mighty, be they top captains of industry or politicians. The CBI had gathered evidence against top industrial houses in the 2G spectrum scam, but it was reluctant to act against the honchos until it got the PM’s nod, sources in the agency said.

It was only after the PM’s clear line that the CBI interrogated Reliance boss Anil Ambani on Wednesday and Essar CEO Prashant Ruia on Thursday. Many more corporate honchos and a few politicians are in the CBI queue and will be interrogated by next week, the sources said. They said the PM’s directive to the agency is to take investigations to their logical conclusion and not feel stuck just because someone important appears to be guilty.

Among those being summoned in the coming days may also include Kanimozhi, the MP daughter of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi, to question her on the funding of the Tamil Kalaignar TV that she and her mother controls. Mumbai’s billionaire builder Shahid Balwa had invested Rs 214 crores in the TV company after his Swan Telecom got the 2G licence from A Raja. The CBI suspects that the investment was a quid pro quo for the favour granted by the Minister.

Meanwhile, the Congress media department chairman and general secretary Janardan Dwivedi dismissed talk of some Congress leaders being unhappy with the PM’s performance. “ The party is completely with the Prime Minister. The party agrees with what he said yesterday. There is no ambiguity on that,” he affirmed. He also asserted that it would be wrong to criticise Dr Manmohan Singh for lack of bravado or reluctance to assert his authority.

“ Every Prime Minister has a distinct persona. Manmohan Singh rarely gets aggressive and deals with issues in his own style,” he pointed out.

Another party general secretary endorsed the PM’s stand on coalition politics, pointing out that his remark was not criticism of any alliance partner. In fact, he was honest and forthright on the issue, the general secretary said, asking: “ Who will not agree that singleparty governments offer more freedom of governance?” How about so many scandals happening right under the PM’s nose? The general secretary quipped that a Prime Minister of integrity does not mean the whole government machinery would be automatically honest. But he was trying to deal with corruption head on instead of throwing up his hands in despair. He put out a clear message that he will not yield before wrong doers, nor would he quit in frustration.

As regards criticism that the PM tried to compare the 2G spectrum losses with subsidies on food and fertilisers, the Congress leaders said he was only conveying that the government’s polices are not always aimed at maximising profits. Hence calculation of losses at the market rates, as done by the CAG in the 2G scam, should not be accepted as the correct methodology.

The Congress leaders are also happy at Dr Singh sending a subtle message to the corporate world that it is the BJP which is blocking vital economic reforms for the petty reason that its Gujarat Home Minister was arrested in a fake encounter case.

His understated message to the corporate bosses is not to heap praises on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi but introspect about larger issues, the party sources said. Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said advocates of economic reforms should take note that the BJP was blocking the crucial tax reforms just because an individual was facing criminal charges. “ We expect a measure of responsibility from the main opposition party,” he added.