Any person found guilty of wrongdoing in a telecoms scandal involving the government will face punishment, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday in his first comments on the controversy, DPA reported.
Speaking at a conference in the Indian capital, Singh said he would not like to comment on allegations relating to the 2G spectrum scandal as parliament was in session.
"But there should not be any doubt in anybody's mind if any wrong thing has been done by anybody, he or she will be brought to book," Singh said during a question-answer session at the Hindustan Times leadership summit.
For this to happen in a democracy, parliament would have to be allowed to function, the prime minister added.
Legislative business in parliament has been stalled for over a week with opposition parties demanding a joint house probe into the sale of 2G telecom licences in 2008.
Former federal telecommunications minister A Raja resigned Sunday, two days before a government auditor's report tabled in parliament accused him of selling the licences at throw-away prices to selected people in the move that could have led to a loss of up to 31 billion dollars to the government exchequer.
The prime minister's office also filed Saturday an affidavit in the Supreme Court giving details of the letters it received from opposition Janata Dal politician Subramanian Swamy seeking sanction to prosecute Raja and its response to those letters.
The court had reprimanded Singh for his "inaction and silence" on the issue and asked for a written explanation.
The 11-page reply filed by V Vidyawati, one of the prime minister's aides, said there was no inaction on part of the prime minister's office in responding to Swamy, PTI news agency reported.
In India, the prime minister's sanction is required before prosecuting a federal cabinet minister.