BJP wants nothing less than JPC for spectrum probe (Lead)
December 28th, 2010 - 8:15 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his letter to parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed willingness to appear before it, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday asserted that it wants nothing less than a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the 2G spectrum scandal.”The prime minister has said in an unprecedented (offer that) he will appear (before) PAC. We do not want the prime minister to break any precedence. We have not asked for that and we are not interested in this,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters here.
“BJP wants nothing less than a JPC,” he said.
The BJP’s reiteration of its position came after the prime minister Monday followed on his assurance at the Congress plenary a week ago and wrote to the PAC head and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi conveying his willingness to appear before it.
Manmohan Singh noted that while there was no precedence of a prime minister appearing before a parliamentary panel, he was ready to do so.
Rudy said that Joshi has not ruled out a JPC probe. “He is doing his work. He never said a JPC is not needed, according to my information,” he said.
Responding to the prime minister’s offer, Joshi Monday said: “An appropriate decision will be taken at an appropriate time, depending on the collective wisdom of members.”
Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj also indicated that the BJP would insist on a JPC probe.
“The scope of PAC is totally different from that of JPC,” she Tuesday posted on her Twitter account, sushmaswarajBJP.
“While PAC deals with accounts, JPC deals with accountability and governance,” she added.
Sushma Swaraj added that the BJP will attend a meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to break the logjam between the government and opposition parties. “We will attend the meeting called by Hon’ble Speaker,” the BJP leader tweeted.
Protests by the entire opposition, including the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Left parties and others, demanding a JPC probe into the telecom scandal led to the adjournment of parliament on all days of the winter session except the inaugural day Nov 9.
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- Murli Manohar Joshi supports demand for JPC on 2G scam - Dec 30, 2010
- PM writes to Joshi, ready to appear before PAC (Lead) - Dec 27, 2010
- PAC to consider PM offer to depose on spectrum, says Joshi (Lead) - Dec 27, 2010
- PM writes to PAC chief, ready to depose before panel (Second Lead) - Dec 27, 2010
- BJP attacks Congress, Mukherjee over remarks on PM's PAC offer - Jan 02, 2011
- Meira Kumar meets non-BJP Opposition leaders to end Parliament deadlock - Dec 31, 2010
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- Speaker may call all-party meeting to break JPC impasse - Dec 28, 2010
- I am happy to appear before PAC, says PM (Second Lead) - Dec 20, 2010
- PAC will decide on PM's offer to appear before it: Joshi (Second Lead) - Dec 27, 2010
- JPC/PAC: Rein in Joshi, Congress tells BJP - Apr 04, 2011
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