Parties involved

The selling of the licenses brought attention to four groups of entities - politicians who had the authority to sell licenses, bureaucrats who implemented and influenced policy decisions, corporations who were buying the licenses, and media professionals who mediated between the politicians and the corporations on behalf of one or the other interest group.

Politicians involved

Kanimozhi,Member of Parliament and daughter of DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi.In November 2010 Outlook published transcripts of six conversations between lobbyist Niira Radia and Kanimozhi from May 2009. India Today claims that these conversations reveal that Kanimozhi filtered the information flowing to her father (the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) and thereby "tipped the scales in favour of" A. Raja, who was Minister of Communications and Information Technology during controversial 2G wireless spectrum allocations in 2008. The New York Times's Delhi correspondent Lydia Polgreen said Raja's rise to telecommunications minister was "emblematic" of how politics in India really work, with the DMK "more closely resembling a sprawling family business empire than a political party," and highlighted Mr. Raja's "close relationship" with Kanimozhi.Raja was arrrested on February 2, 2011 for his alleged role in manipulating rules to allocate favorable spectrum to some telecom companies at throwaway prices.

Following the Central Bureau of Investigation's raid on Tamil Maiyam, an NGO of which she is a director,Kanimozhi said the DMK party will come out clean in the CBI probe, stating "The law has to take its own course. It is a process to prove us not guilty."After the February 2nd arrest DMK party members and workers immediately passed a resolution declaring that the arrest doesn't mean Raja is guilty, and claimed opposition parties were targeting him for political purposes.

A. Raja, the Ex-Minister of Communications and Information Technology who was the minister when the controversial second round of spectrum allocations took place. Mr.Raja, an MP of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam from the Nilgiris constituency, was forced to resign following the public outcry. He was appointed the minister of telecommunications again for the second time when the UPA returned to power in the last general elections despite huge reservations from economists and other political parties. This was due to the pressure exerted by the DMK, one of the main allies of the Congress. He was arrested for his role in the spectrum scam and currently is lodged in the Tihar Jail in Outer Delhi. The CBI has raided his various houses, offices and other NGOs and beneficiaries related to A.Raja.

M. Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the DMK chief. Kanimozhi is the daughter of M.Karunanithi and the entire scam is hugely directed toward the top brass of his party. The Radia tapes indicated his wife and his daughter as beneficiaries in the deals involving huge corporates. Recently, Kalaignar TV, a television channel owned by Karunanithi and his family members was raided in connection with the spectrum scam. CBI has unearthed evidence of money trail leading towards the Kalaignar TV.