FACTBOX - PM dragged into huge telecoms scandal

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been forced to explain to the Supreme Court his failure to probe a huge telecoms scam, as the investigation into a $31 billion scandal gathers pace.

 

Here are some details of the scandal, the investigation, and the potential fallout:

 

 

WHAT IS THE SCANDAL ABOUT?

Former Telecoms Minister Andimuthu Raja is accused of selling 2G telecom licences at deliberately low prices to companies, some of which were ineligible, during the 2007-2008 tendering process. Raja, who was sacked at the weekend, denies the charges.

An audit report into the licence sales, released on Tuesday, estimated a loss to the state of up to $31 billion, and has stoked opposition demands for a full-scale parliamentary investigation.

 

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