PM to address Parliament on Raja drama

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to make a statement in Parliament on Monday on the alleged 2G spectrum scam. He is likely to refer to A Raja's decision to resign from the post of telecom minister in the statement.

Manmohan Singh is likely to make the point that Raja had to step down because of the charges which were levelled against him in the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report. The Prime Minister has already accepted Raja's resignation.

Raja, under sustained pressure from the Opposition, finally submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the 2G spectrum scandal on Sunday night.

"In order to avoid embarrassment to the Government and maintain peace and harmony in Parliament, my leader (DMK chief M Karunanidhi) has advised me to resign," Raja told reporters.

The Prime Minister will also try to assure Parliament that he will not back any individual who is proven guilty of corruption. Singh is also likely to make a categorical assessment of when the CAG report will be tabled.

Sources say the CAG report could be tabled in Parliament on Monday itself.

AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa welcomed Raja's resignation and said that his quitting from the Union Council of Minister was not a case of taking the moral high ground.

"This overdue resignation is not a case of scaling the moral high ground. Raja had been mocking at all constitutional institutions including the office of the prime minister," said Jayalalithaa in her statement.

"Raja's resignation does not signal the end of the mother of all scams. Raja and persons and institutions close to him, particularly the Karunanidhi family, have gained out of the shady deals. A number of letter-pad organisations have overnight become communication giants. Raja himself should be charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act and should be arrested and tried for perpetrating the biggest scam in the history of mankind," she added.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear petitions against Raja in the 2G spectrum scam on Monday.

A bench comprising Justice GS Singhvi and Justice AK Ganguly will hear two petitions filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, an NGO and former union minister Subramaniam Swamy.

The petitions claim that the exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore due to Raja's alleged involvement during the 2G spectrum sale.