Twice in the last three years, once in November 2008 and again in November 2010, Outlook reported Ratan Tata’s famous hand-written letter to DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, praising A. Raja’s “rational, fair and action-oriented leadership”. Now, 10 days after the former telecom minister was arrested in the 2G scam, the 74-year-old Tata Group chief’s personal letter is out in the open.
Tata’s letter, dated November 13, 2007, hand-delivered by the lobbyist Niira Radia, came just months after Raja had taken over the portfolio from MK’s grand-nephew, Dayanidhi Maran, who paid the price for the falling out within Tamil Nadu’s ruling family. And it came against the backdrop of reports that the Sun TV group, owned by Maran’s brother Kalanidhi, was arm-twisting the Tatas on its DTH project.
The epistle is remarkable for two other reasons: the direct channel of communication with the DMK top boss (although it was only a partner in the UPA coalition) and the quick certificate Tata was inclined to give Raja who had spent no more than a few months in the hot seat. “On the issue of spectrum also, his stated policies, for most part, have been legally sound, rational and well-reasoned,” writes Tata, less than a month after Raja’s controversial move to grant GSM licenses to CDMA operators like Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications. Tata Tele’s subsequent 27 per cent stake sale to GSM major Docomo, raising over Rs 4,500 crore, raised plenty of eyebrows.
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Above all, Tata knew that Karunanidhi held the remote control of Sanchar Bhawan. “It is essential that history praises the vision, creativity and high growth achieved by you and your minister.... (The) DMK can possibly claim telecom to be its greatest achievement and most significant contribution to the nation’s growth,” he writes in the third paragraph.
Curiously, instead of asking one of his CEOs, Tata chose Ms Radia to carry the letter: “I have therefore requested Ms Niira Radia to personally carry this letter to you and explain to you the public perceptions, the orchestrated misinformation and the vested interests that are seeking to derail the process of growth through technological and spectrum battles, rather than seeking rational gain,” he writes.
Seen in conjunction with the various conversations in the Radia tapes—be it her eagerness to see Raja in the same portfolio in UPA-II, her conversations with MK’s wife Rajathiammal (through an accountant, Ratnam) on an alleged Voltas property—it opens up a plethora of questions.
Radia’s conversations involving the real estate company Unitech, which sold spectrum at a huge premium, have also attracted plenty of attention, especially after it was revealed that Tata Realty gave Unitech a Rs 1,700-crore unsecured loan that was further distributed to their subsidiary companies. This money, say telecom observers, was used by Unitech to apply for spectrum.
