Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) The Congress Wednesday slammed Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chief Murli Manohar Joshi for his remarks against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, saying he had made his position untenable and should apologise to parliament and the speaker.

Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Joshi, who has been reappointed PAC chairman, of raising “extraneous issues” at his press conference in Lucknow Tuesday.

She said the Congress party had doubts if it can have faith in Joshi to carry out his duties as the PAC chief in an impartial manner.

“We condemn the remarks made by Joshi in no uncertain terms, particularly on matters not before PAC… By making the remarks public, he has rendered untenable his position as PAC chief,” Natarajan, a member of the PAC, said.

Referring to Joshi’s remarks in Lucknow, Natarajan said: “He has finally and completely placed the last nail in the coffin of PAC by politicising, destroying one of the most important parliamentary institutions, in one sense the watchdog of finances of the government.”

“During his previous period as chairman of the PAC, Joshi had already destroyed the credibility of the committee. By functioning in a partisan basis, by briefing the media everyday after meetings of the committee, although that is not the practice, he turned the entire event into political one-upmanship,” she said.

Replying to queries, Natarajan said “whatever needs to be done, we will take up in the committee”.

Accusing Joshi of speaking on issues totally outside PAC-purview such as status of parties in Uttar Pradesh, Natarajan said: “It was matter of doubt for us whether we can any longer express our faith in him to carry out his duties in an impartial, free and fair manner.”

Natarajan, who did not directly seek Joshi’s resignation, demanded that he “apologise to parliament and to the speaker and withdraw his remarks”.

Joshi had told mediapersons in Lucknow Tuesday that the UPA government and the Congress were trying to convert the PAC into a “captive committee” to be run on their directives.

He had also criticised the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party for joining hands with the Congress and accused them of trying to scuttle the report on the 2G spectrum controversy.