S-Band spectrum: Needle of suspicion points at Chavan, alleges BJP
By IANSTuesday, February 8, 2011
MUMBAI - A senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Tuesday alleged that the ‘needle of suspicion’ in the S-Band spectrum deal pointed at Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan who was the then union minister dealing with the space department.
However, Chavan, promptly denied the allegation at a media conference in Sangli in the evening.
When contacted, an official in the Chief Minister’s Office in Mumbai said the government is likely to issue a detailed statement in the matter after Chavan returns home later in the night.
Speaking to mediapersons in Mumbai in the afternoon, state BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde pointed out that ISRO is an extremely sensitive department from the country’s security aspect.
“That is why it is handled directly by the PMO and the concerned minister in that office,” Tawde said.
“At the relevant time, Chavan was the minister in PMO and hence the needle of suspicion points at him. He must reply to the charges,” Tawde added.
Denying BJP’s accusations, Chavan said in Sangli that the matter had come before him last year when he was in PMO.
However, he said that a committee set up to look into the S-Band Spectrum had recommended cancellation of the deal with ISRO.
