Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Prime Minister of India,
South Block,
New Delhi.
Dear Prime Minister:
I write this letter to draw your attention to a recent development arising from the proceedings in the Supreme Court {in the Court of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice Radhakrishnan}. On March 18, 2013 and April 17, 2013, in an Interlocutory Application No. 36 of 2012 I had argued that the Aircel- Maxis acquisition deal enabling a Malayasian company, Maxis, to acquire (directly and indirectly) nearly 100 percent of the equity of a wholly owned Indian telecom company, namely, Aircel Pvt Ltd, was wholly illegal and fraudulent.
FDI Rules require that no foreign company can acquire more than 74 percent of the equity (directly or indirectly) of an Indian company. Nevertheless, on March 20, 2006, the Finance Ministry with the approval of the Minister of Finance (Mr. P. Chidambaram) wrote a letter to the Maxis company to inform that this deal received the approval of the FIPB. A close perusal of the FIPB record however, shows that there has been fraud committed since the FIPB never gave any such a clearance.
The Hon’ble Bench had directed on March 18, 2013 the CBI to examine my I.A.No. 36 and file a Status Report. On April 17, 2013, yesterday, the Counsel of the CBI informed the Court that this matter has been investigated by the CBI, and that considerable progress has been made. Further progress the Counsel said would depend on the co-operation of the Malaysian authorities for which the Hon’ble Bench of the Supreme Court has fixed an outer limit of three months for the CBI.
Since the FIPB functions under the direct supervision and with the approval of the Finance Minister, namely, Mr. P. Chidambaram, you will agree that it will be morally proper for you to ask the Finance Minister to step down till the inquiry is completed.
In view of these circumstances it is imperative that you take this action to ensure a free and fair probe is conducted without the meddling by Mr. Chidambaram. You may recall that in November 2008 I had written to you a letter about the 2G Spectrum Scam, but you relied on the advice of your officials, and also failed to act on my application, for granting Sanction to prosecute A. Raja. You are well aware of the subsequent developments because of your inaction then. At this hour of dismally depressing corruption in the country, threatening our national security, you must act to tone up the Administration and make an example of some to send the clear message down the line to all concerned. Hence I urge you to ask Mr. Chidambarm to step down from the position of Minister of Finance till this matter is fully investigated and prosecuted if warranted.
Best Regards,
Yours sincerely,
( SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY )