Telenor is one of the companies whose licenses got cancelled by the Supreme Court, after the Government dragged its feet on the 2G scam.
Well, Telenor – the Norwegian company that was impacted isn’t happy and is ready to play tough ball with the Indian system. The company will take all its assets to a new company and apply for new licenses. Huh!!? So, just a change in the name would do a “Dip in the Ganges” for her? The real issue in case of Telenor – brought out by CBI and completely ignored and disregarded by the Indian Govt, for the personal profit of the ministers – was that the equipment for Telenor is sourced from China. Knowing how China loves to bug things for surveillance, using Chinese Telecom equipment through the length and breadth of India would be disastrous.
Norway’s Telenor on Tuesday dumped its Indian telecoms partner which it accused of “fraud and misrepresentation” and said it would migrate its Indian business into a fresh venture to seek new operating licences.
The latest twist in India’s mobile phone licensing scandal came only weeks after Telenor said it might abandon India. The Indian Supreme Court on Feb 2 revoked 22 mobile licences held by Telenor’s Uninor joint venture in an anti-corruption ruling against several operators.
“The new company will be the platform to approach the fresh licence auctions with,” Telenor said, adding that the new venture would take over Uninor’s customers and employees.
Now, remember that Telenor was surreptiously admitted into India by an unscrupulous company – Unitech. But by this move – the Chief Scaming Company – Unitech is all up in arms.
It is like the Robber is looting a Dacoit in broad day light!
Indian venture partner Unitech said Telenor’s move was “shocking” and illegal. Unitech said in a statement the move “not only shows complete disregard and oppression of the minority shareholder by Telenor, but is also against all principles of related party transactions.”
“Telenor cannot transfer any assets of Uninor without the consent of Unitech because we have veto right in the shareholders’ agreement as well as in the articles of association for such matters,” it added.
Telenor said “fraud and misrepresentation” on Unitech’s part voids the shareholder agreement, allowing Telenor to transfer Uninor’s business into a new company at a fair market value.
Telenor said it would seek approval to own 74 percent of the new company but a spokesman declined to discuss who the new partner may be. The Uninor joint venture has been among the most aggressive of India’s newer telecoms companies. It has close to 40 million customers, or more than 4 percent of the market.
Remember so many incidents where the Brits used one king to bring the other down, and the first thing after defeating and finishing off the first king they would do is kill the guy who helped! Doesn’t the entire plan sound all to familiar? A traitor, someone to take advantage of their small egos and even lesser national pride and then the benefactor of betrayal executing the traitor. The story plot hasn’t changed in so many centuries!!
Interesting days ahead!
