'No credible material to act against Raja'

Congress today said there was no credible material to act against Union Telecom Minister A Raja who has come under fire from Opposition for allegedly causing Rs 1 lakh crore loss to government in allocation of 2G spectrum allocation.

"If there is any relevant or credible material, it can be forwarded to the appropriate government authority but as of today there is nothing which the government finds it necessary to act upon it", Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Kochi.

There was no question of Congress defending or not defending a person who was not a member of the party, he said when asked how long Congress would defend Raja.

"This question you have to put to the party to which Raja belongs. Yes, Raja is a part of the government led by Congress but Congress party does not deal with him as a party," he said.

The opposition has been gunning for removal of Raja for allegedly causing a loss of Rs one lakh crore in the allocation of 2G spectrum during 2007-08 and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Commission probe into the charges.

The issue was raised by BJP and AIADMK in Parliament, leading to disruption of proceedings on a few occasions.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi has defended Raja saying he was being targeted by "dominant forces" because he was a Dalit. He has also ruled out resignation of Raja, a DMK Lok Sabha member.

Asked about disruption of Parliament proceedings by the opposition, Singhvi said they should introspect and ensure that Parliamentary time was not lost in the next session howsoever controversial an issue may be.

"Parliament is the temple of democracy but at the same time I would like to respectfully say the Opposition must introspect on this, post-recess session. A very large amount of time has been lost, especially in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha due to disruption, boycott and walkouts," he said.