Industry body Assocham has said that it has withdrawn a letter it had written on April 27 and May 15 to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and sector regulator Trai seeking cancellation of 141 2G licences. These included 19 licences of Tata Teleservices.

The apex court on February 2 this year had cancelled 122 spectrum licences allotted during the tenure of former telecom minister A Raja in 2008. These licences are believed to be rigged.

"We wish to inform you that based on new information that has been provided to us by our members, we believe that above referred (sent on April 27 and May 15, 2012) to letters were inadvertently sent on behalf of Assocham," Dhoot said in his letter to Trai and DoT on July 9.

He further said "Hence, we wish to withdraw these letters with immediate effect and total disassociate Assocham from their contents."

Tata Teleservices had protested strongly against ASSOCHAM’s letter seeking cancellation of its dual technology status. The company has demanded that ASSOCHAM investigate how these two letters were written in violation of norms and immediately withdraw them.

In a letter to the industry body, Tata Teleservices had termed ASSOCHAM’s two letters to as ones that “serve the interests of a handful of powerful members within the industry body”.

The TTL letter further pointed out that industry bodies such as ASSOCHAM should not write letters without confirming facts, or on matters which are sub-judice. Further, it is shocking that ASSOCHAM has written a letter seeking to harm the interests of one of its own Member companies, TTL said.