Amid growing attack on Telecom Minister A Raja over alleged scam in spectrum allocation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to take a decision on his continuance in the Union Cabinet after his return from Seoul on Friday, highly placed sources said.
The sources indicated that the government is under intense pressure to remove Raja as he has been directly held responsible for the alleged scam by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
"Holding a Cabinet Minister directly responsible for any scam is rare. In such a circumstance, it is difficult for any government to retain the Minister," a source said.
A decision on his continuance in the Cabinet is expected be taken after the return of the Prime Minister from G-20 Summit in Seoul on Friday, the sources said.
The CAG has said it has submitted to the government the report on the 2G spectrum allotment that may have caused a loss of over Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.
Sources in the know say that the CAG has accused the Telecom Ministry for undervaluing 2G spectrum, sold to new players in 2008, and held that the allotment price was not realistic, which has caused a revenue loss of Rs 1,76,700 crore (Rs 1.76 trillion)
The report is understood to have named Raja for taking arbitrary decision while allotting 2G spectrum, bundled with licences in January 2008.
A united opposition is set to embarass the government in the Rajya Sabha today by seeking the removal of Telecom Minister A Raja in the wake of the multi-crore 2G spectrum allocation controversy.
All opposition parties have given notices for a motion on the issue of corruption including the removal of Raja, whose DMK party is a key constituent of Congress-led UPA at the Centre.
AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa has appealed to people to send telegrams to President Pratibha Patil demanding Raja's immediate removal from the government. "Raja has presided over what is easily the mother of all scams the 2G spectrum", she alleged.
