New Delhi:
On a cold and gray Delhi afternoon, the Lok Sabha speaker tried once again to thaw the winter freeze in parliament. She was unsuccessful.
The BJP emerged from Meira Kumar's all-party session holding tight to its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G spectrum scam. Through the winter session of parliament, the stand-off over a JPC between the opposition and the government ensured that virtually the entire session saw no business conducted.
As a compromise, the Prime Minister has offered to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which is studying the 2G spectrum scam as reported by the government's auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
The Prime Minister stressed that this is an unprecedented offer. The BJP responded that it didn't want the Prime Minister to break with tradition, and that it's not going to budge from its JPC war cry.
The government says that several agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are detailing how the 2G scam was executed. A Raja as Telecom Minister is accused of under-valuing 2G spectrum to favour companies who applied for mobile licenses in 2008. The government's auditor said in November that Raja cost the government upto Rs 1.76 lakh crore. That sealed Raja's fate, forcing him to resign from the cabinet.
The CBI has since raided the homes of A Raja and his associates. It is also studying the phone conversations between PR executive Niira Radia and politicians and industrialists to determine whether Radia lobbied for her clients to win 2G licenses, and influenced the government to reinduct Raja as Telecom Minister after the UPA won the general elections in 2009.
The government points to these lines of inquiry as proof that a JPC is not needed. Constituting this new committee, made up of different parties, would only slow down the 2G investigation, argue its critics, most of who are part of the government.
The PM's offer to answer questions posed by the PAC was prompted by suggestions that the government doesn't want to set up a JPC because it will have the power to summon the Prime Minister and his colleagues.
The BJP emerged from Meira Kumar's all-party session holding tight to its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G spectrum scam. Through the winter session of parliament, the stand-off over a JPC between the opposition and the government ensured that virtually the entire session saw no business conducted.
As a compromise, the Prime Minister has offered to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which is studying the 2G spectrum scam as reported by the government's auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
The Prime Minister stressed that this is an unprecedented offer. The BJP responded that it didn't want the Prime Minister to break with tradition, and that it's not going to budge from its JPC war cry.
The government says that several agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are detailing how the 2G scam was executed. A Raja as Telecom Minister is accused of under-valuing 2G spectrum to favour companies who applied for mobile licenses in 2008. The government's auditor said in November that Raja cost the government upto Rs 1.76 lakh crore. That sealed Raja's fate, forcing him to resign from the cabinet.
The CBI has since raided the homes of A Raja and his associates. It is also studying the phone conversations between PR executive Niira Radia and politicians and industrialists to determine whether Radia lobbied for her clients to win 2G licenses, and influenced the government to reinduct Raja as Telecom Minister after the UPA won the general elections in 2009.
The government points to these lines of inquiry as proof that a JPC is not needed. Constituting this new committee, made up of different parties, would only slow down the 2G investigation, argue its critics, most of who are part of the government.
The PM's offer to answer questions posed by the PAC was prompted by suggestions that the government doesn't want to set up a JPC because it will have the power to summon the Prime Minister and his colleagues.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
