Varanasi, Sep 26 : Social activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan has criticized Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh for turning a blind eye to the multi-billion 2 G spectrum scam.

Talking to reporters here, Bhushan said Dr. Singh had let key ally, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), run riot in the context of distributing 2G spectrum licenses to a favoured few.

"Manmohan Singh was aware of the whole situation. But he turned a blind eye to the whole situation by maybe thinking that if the coalition with the DMK has to be maintained, they should be allowed to make some money from this deal. That''s why he neglected the whole situation. But I think it is completely illegal," he added.

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev said Dr. Singh was as guilty as former Telecom Minister A. Raja, DMK lawmaker M K Kanimozhi and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

"First a group of ministers comprising of four-five ministers was formulated to oversee the spectrum deal. But the Prime Minister transferred this responsibility to one minister. This means, the Prime Minister is as guilty as A Raja, Kanimozhi and Chidambaram," Ramdev told reporters in Kanpur.

The telecom scam, one of India''s biggest graft cases ever, may have cost 39.57 billion dollars in revenue to the public exchequer as per the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

In its report, the CAG had disclosed that several guidelines and rules were flouted during the allocation of spectrum licences, which led to many ineligible firms winning licences.
(ANI)