New Delhi:
BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has written to the Prime Minister, demanding that he testify for a parliamentary committee that's dissecting the telecom or 2G scam, named for the second-generation airwaves involved.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Sinha, who has served as Finance Minister, writes, "I think it is in your own personal interest to appear before the JPC (joint parliamentary committee) and clear your name... any hesitation on your part will only confirm the feeling that you have something to hide."
The 2G scam was allegedly constructed and executed by A Raja, who was Telecom Minister in 2008.
In 2012, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences issued by him for mobile network licenses because a transparent bidding process had not been followed. Mr Raja, who spent over a year in jail, and is being tried for criminal charges, has said that the Prime Minister and Finance Minister P Chidambaram were aware of his policies, and should therefore be held accountable for any irregularities.
Mr Raja has been urging the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which has nearly 30 lawmakers from different parties, to hear him out in person. But the committee has refused.
Mr Sinha claimed that in his communications to the committee, Mr Raja has levelled "serious allegations" against the Prime Minister and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Mr Sinha said today that the parliamentary committee's functioning has been "scandalous." The team is headed by PC Chacko of the Congress.
"For over two months, a meeting of the JPC has not been called; various members, including me, have been demanding, please call a meeting of the JPC," Mr Sinha said.
His allegations were supported by his party, the BJP, with spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman questioning the resistance by the Congress and the government to any move to call the Prime Minister and Mr Chidambaram besides Mr Raja before the JPC.
"This is an obstructionist attitude of Congress...making no progress at all...It is unfortunate that they aren't letting the JPC to function...If they have nothing to hide, let them appear," Ms Sitharaman said.