Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today continued quizzing people, including industrialist Anil Ambani, on matters related to the allotment of scarce telecom spectrum by former communications minister A. Raja. After two-hour questioning, PAC chief Murli Manohar Joshi told reporters that Anil Ambani said that it's tough for him to answer any questions on the 2G spectrum scam since the matter is now sub-judice and is being heard by the Supreme Court.

However, he did admit to making mistakes, said MM Joshi.

According to sources, the members raised six sets of issues pertaining to policy matters, the first-come-first-served basis for awarding spectrum, excess spectrum with service providers and second and third generation (2G and 3G) telecom services.

The sources said Ambani, chairman of Reliance Communications, was candid and cooperative in his replies and responded to all queries raised by the members. On matters pertaining to charges by the Central Bureau of Investigation, he said the issue was sub-judice.

"He had all the facts and figures on his fingertips. He did not require any paper or any prepared material to refer to while responding to the queries," said a source, adding the meeting, scheduled around noon, had started an hour late and lasted some 60 minutes.

Etisalat DB Telecom chief executive Atul Jhamb also appeared before the panel Tuesday afternoon, a day after the empowered panel quizzed Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, each for some three hours.

The Public Accounts Committee is headed by Bharatiya Janata Party's Murli Manohar Joshi.

The panel has earlier queried Telecom Secretary R. Chandrashekhar, his predecessors D.S. Mathur and Siddhartha Behura, former member-finance in Telecom Commission Manju Madhavan and former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Pradip Baijal.

It also interacted with Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao, who was finance secretary when the scarce spectrum for second generation (2G) telecom services was allotted to service providers.

The PAC is examining a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General stating that the sale of spectrum below market prices during Raja's tenure had caused caused huge losses to the government.

Raja was forced to step down as communications minister last November and was later arrested. The alleged scam is being probed by multiple agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a joint parliamentary committee (JPC). (With IANS inputs)

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