The 2G scam which hit the Dr Manmohan Singh led UPA in 2010 , finally fizzled out as the special CBI court acquitted all the 17 accused in the case.  Just as the news of the  acquittal by the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court  in the 2G  case spread both the Bharatiya janata party ( BJP) and the Congress party went on offensives and counter offensive mode. The Congress feels it’s the sentiment built following the allegations of the then Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai  which contributed to the ouster of the Congress in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The 2G scam verdict which comes as a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA, using the 2G spectrum scandal and alleged irregularities in coal block allocations that dogged the second term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

While the move comes as a shot in the arm to the Congress, which is now led by new party president Rahul Gandhi. The verdict coming on the back of the party’s creditable performance in the recent Gujarat elections under his leadership will give the UPA fresh ammunition to attack the BJP.

It maybe recalled that in 2010 Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report had estimated a presumptive loss of Rs1.76 trillion in the 2008 allocation of 2G spectrum and licences. In 2012, the Supreme Court cancelled the licences and ordered auction of the radiowaves.

The CBI which investigated the complaint filed by BJP’s Dr Subramaniam Swamy saw 17 people including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) politicians A. Raja and Kanimozhi guilty. After a prolonged trial in which thee CBI failed to establish the charges against the accused saw the Special CBI court give a clean chit to the accused. Given that the DMK was a former partner in the UPA, the verdict could boost Congress attempts to stitch together a larger anti-BJP alliance in the country.

Aspersions had been cast on the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and was blamed by the BJP for having ignored wrong doings in the government. “The court’s judgement has to be respected. I am glad that the court has pronounced unambiguously. All the massive propaganda which was being done against the UPA was without any foundation. The judgement speaks for itself,” former prime minister Manmohan Singh told reporters.

The NDA government went into a defensive mode and threatened to file appeal in Delhi High Court after studying the verdict. Finance minister Arun Jaitley  said the verdict should not be treated as a “badge of honour” by the Congress. “The Congress is treating 2G scam verdict as a badge of honour, but its zero loss theory (in allocation of spectrum) was proven wrong when the Supreme Court quashed spectrum allocation in February 2012,” .

DMK leader A Raja  hit out at “vested interests” who he said had sensationalized “fabricated allegations,” as he welcomed the ruling. “It has been repeatedly proven that the presumptive loss to the exchequer which formed the basis for the conspiracy theorists to run amok was cooked up,” he said in a statement.

The political significance of the verdict can be understood from the fact that top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma met Kanimozhi at her residence in the national capital. Senior party leaders said both Gandhi and Singh spoke to Kanimozhi soon after the verdict, The DMK which faced political persecution  for nearly a decade , seemed to be getting into a resurgent mood. The party headquarters in Chennai saw thousands congratulate the leaders as they hope it will help swing the party’s political fortunes in 2019 General elections and in the state elections thereafter.