2G case: PM, Chidambaram were in the know, says Kanimozhi

Jailed DMK leader Kanimozhi today defended herself before a special court in Delhi saying that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram, then the finance minister, were fully in the loop on the 2G spectrum and license allocation method, and had decided along with the then telecom minister A Raja (also jailed) not to auction these.

This line of defence has been used by several others accused in the case as well.

"I am showing you the minutes of the meeting in which the prime minister, the then finance minister, and the telecom minister decided that the licences for 2G spectrum were as not to be auctioned," senior advocate Sushil Kumar, appearing for Kanimozhi, told special Central Bureau of Investigation judge O P Saini.

Seeking discharge from the case, the counsel for the 43-year-old DMK MP said the CBI case is based on the premise that the accused caused a huge loss to the state exchequer by not auctioning the licences for 2G spectrum.

"The prime minister, the then finance minister and the present telecom minister are good enough as witnesses to prove that there was no loss. They are on record in Parliament that the government did not incur any loss," Kumar said.

"The moment, the loss factor goes out, the charge of cheating also goes out," Kumar said, adding that the foundation of the CBI case cannot sustain the legal process.