Did Tata Bribe UPA’s “King Of Corruption” Raja?

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BANGALORE – The 2G scam is taking new twists and turns with names of big shots taken in connection with the mastermind A. Raja. Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa told a Delhi court that he was being ‘selectively’ targeted by the country watch dog CBI while Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata was not questioned for the 20 crore donation that was made to a hospital in A.Raja’s constituency.

Both lawyers of Balwa, Vijay Aggarwal and Majid Memon have argued till date that the 20 crore that was given as charity to Perambalur Medical College Hospital in Tamil Naidu was nothing but the easiest way that the Tata group could seek favor from the former communications minister.

A letter dated September 10, 2009, Raja wrote to Tata, “It was requested that the cheque of the of the entire amount of 20 crore may be made ‘as a special case’ as an upfront payment in the name of the hospital authority…I request you to please look into the matter personally to see that the entire amount of 20 crore is released to the Government of Tamil Nadu at the earliest…”

And promptly replying back to A.Raja on September 15, 2009, Ratan Tata explains in the delay in sending the funds “I wish to inform you that we have never made a grant of this size to any external recipient in the Trust’s history…The grant to the Perambalur Hospital was given as a very special case, after considerable deliberation amongst the Trustees, which include independent persons.”

Reacting to the allegations, Tata Sons in a statement dated on May 18,2011 had said “We are not aware of the contents of the letters produced in the court. It is a fact that Mr RN Tata was approached in 2008-2009 about a grant of 20 crore from Tata Trusts for the Perambalur Medical College Hospital, but that grant was ultimately not given.”

The statement also says, “The Trust had received a grant request in July 2007 to support the cost of upgradation of the medical facilities in the Government Hospital in Perambalur together with some taluka hospitals. The grant of 8 crore was sanctioned against this request. Of this sanctioned amount, only a sum of 3.26 crore was released by the Trust and spent by the hospital, towards the cost of a CT Scan machine and allied medical equipment to augment its facilities to treat the rural poor.”

In 2008, a request was received through Sivasankar (Perambalur MLA) to partner the Tamil Nadu government in constructing a medical college and hospital in Perambalur which is a backward district with a predominantly scheduled caste and other backward class population.