Former Telecom Minister A Raja proclaimed himself as the man who brought a revolution in the telecom sector hours after the Special CBI court acquitted him all the charges in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
“I brought a revolution in the telecom sector. It is not unknown to the history that a person who did a revolution is often termed as a criminal,” Raja said in a press statement. (sic)
“All my actions as Telecom Minister had been for the benefit of the masses, to make wireless service more economical and widely available, in line with the National Telecom Policy (NTP) and the recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). I have felt somewhat vindicated all along even prior to this judgment because the beneficial results of my actions are evident to and being enjoyed by the nation’s public (especially the poor),” Raja said.
He further alleged that “vested interests” manipulated public perception by leveraging the media and sensationalising “fabricated allegations”.
Speaking of his confidence in getting acquitted, Raja claimed, “As an advocate myself and a public servant I had full faith in the judiciary and I cooperated fully with the trial and did not seek even single day adjournment.”
“I also had the courage and confidence to step into the witness box and gave evidence and offered myself for cross examination by the CBI, which is very unusual in criminal trials in India,” read his statement.
‘False case’
In his statement to the media, the DMK leader said that the case against him and others was false to begin with.
Raja said, “The learned Judge has held that it is not just a case of the prosecution failing to prove its allegations, but a case where the prosecution case itself was false, which was my submission from the very first day.”
He further said, “I may note that the learned trial judge has repeatedly observed that my evidence was cogent, credible and consistent with the official records, in contrast with the prosecution witnesses whose evidence has been rejected as untrustworthy,” Raja said.
Raja also said that it was his duty to thank party patriarch M Karunanidhi, DMK working president MK Stalin and party cadres for their “unflinching support during the dark period.”
He also thanked to all those who visited him during the 15 months of his imprisonment as an undertrial.
Judgement
In its judgment, the special CBI judge OP Saini said that the CBI had "miserably failed" to prove any charge against any accused in its "well choreographed" chargesheet.
Highlighting the lack of legally admissible evidence the accused the judge said, “...for the last about seven years, on all working days, summer vacation included, I religiously sat in the open Court from 10 AM to 5 PM, awaiting for someone with some legally admissible evidence in his possession, but all in vain.”