JPC on 2G spectrum allocation to meet today

Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) witnessed a stormy meeting on Tuesday as its chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi tried to table the 2G scam report which was returned by the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Congress members in the new PAC have already indicated that they would not allow the new panel to take up the 2G spectrum allocation scam as a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is already looking into it.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee scheduled to meet on Wednesday to look into the scam.

At the end of a three-hour meeting, Joshi, who was reappointed Chairman of the Committee, decided to take the views of Constitutional experts as conflicting views were put out by members in favour of and against the Committee taking up a report which the Congress members claimed was already rejected.

Interestingly, DMK and BSP members supported the contention of the BJP-led NDA that the report, which had criticised the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram, should be circulated.

Joshi, whose earlier attempt in April to get the report adopted was defeated by members of Congress, DMK, BSP and SP, on Tuesday tabled the same report along with a letter from Speaker Meira Kumar.

The previous PAC had seven representatives from the Congress, four from BJP, two each from AIADMK and DMK, and one each from Shiv Sena, BJD, JD(U), SP, BSP and CPI(M).

In the new Committee, the Congress has eight members, its allies NCP and DMK one each. The BJP has four, BSP has two, Shiv Sena, BJD, AIADMK, CPI(M), SP and Akali Dal have one member each.

In her letter, Kumar had said that she was returning the "draft report" as it was "not read and adopted" as per rules and procedures.

Addressing reporters, Congress party spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "Stop sacrificing Parliamentary propriety at the altar of political expediency. The tenure of the old PAC is over and a new PAC is in place. "Why a report of the previous committee which has been rejected by the majority is being pushed down the throat of the new PAC. This when a JPC has been constituted with a specific purpose to look into the 2G issue."