Countering the criticism, Powerful Telecom Industry Associations and individual operators said that a deliberate attempt was being made to scuttle the package. "We believe that a vested campaign is on to derail this crucial and timely package", said industry sources. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that revenue receipts will actually be double than Union Budget estimates. Quoting estimates, COAI said that the total receipts to the Government from cellular and basic license fees will be Rs 3,120 crore as on July 31, 1999, in addition to revenue share dues from August 1, 1999 to March 2000.

This is against the Union Budget 1999-2000 provision of Rs 1,700 crore as license fee receipts from both basic and cellular services.Giving a breakup of the dues, COAI said that total cellular dues as on March 31, 1999 were Rs 2,874 crore, while total basic service dues were Rs 789 crore. Estimated additional dues for April 1, 1999 to July 31, 1999 would be Rs 900 crore. Thus the combined dues as on July 31, 1999 are Rs 4,563 crore, which gets reduced to Rs 3,120 crore after deducting Rs 1,443 crore as effect of six month extension.

Earlier, in the day Congress accused Prime Minister AB Vajpayee of taking undue interest in clearing concessions worth crore to the cellular and basic telephone operators and condemned the caretaker government's attempts to undermine constitutional institutions including the President.

Addressing newspersons here, party spokesperson Ajit Jogi said the finance minister was asked to expedite clearance to the package of concessions and a cabinet note on the issue was approved by the Prime minister without consultation with the finance and law ministries. Jogi said that Jagmohan was shunted out of thecommunication ministry as he had opposed the deal sponsored by the PMO. "Attorney General Soli Sorabjee, who had earlier given an opinion against the package was also summoned from the United Kingdom and was provided fresh terms of reference enabling him to revise his opinion", Jogi alleged.

Referring to the reported objections raised by President KR Narayanan to the deal, Jogi said his party strongly condemned the attempts by the caretaker Government to systematically undermine constitutional institutions, including the President COAI said that the extension of effective date by six months now offered to operators in return for withdrawal of all legal proceedings against the Government, is far less compensation that what the operators believe to be due to them on account of Governmental delays in clearances. "The Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices (BICP), a Government agency had independently validated the excessive delays that warrant an effective date extension by 24 months and the AG also hadrecommended extension by six to nine months", said COAI. Even though the Government has chosen to grant only six months extension, operators have already started accepting the package. COAI said that the misinformed statements would badly affect investor confidence.