Industry body Assocham on Tuesday came in support of foreign telecom companies — Etisalat, Telenor and Sistema — that had to face the brunt of 2G spectrum licence cancellations by the Supreme Court.
The woes of these foreign investors were taken up with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, when a four-member Assocham delegation led by its President, Mr Rajkumar Dhoot, called on him here. Mr Dhoot is understood to have submitted to the Prime Minister that these foreign investors had to face the brunt of the apex court judgment despite making investments here in line with the Government policies. Others present on the occasion were Assocham Senior Vice- President, Mr Rana Kapoor, Assocham Vice-President, Mr Sunil Kanoria and Assocham Secretary-General, Mr D.S. Rawat.
While cancelling the 122 telecom licences issued in 2008, the Supreme Court had in February asked the government to conduct a fresh auction within four months. Assocham has suggested that the auction be conducted in three stages “for a fair opportunity to equally eligible candidates.”