2G scam: JPC gives clean chit to Manmohan, FM
19 April 2013 1:10 AM GMT
In a expected relief to the UPA government, the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 2G scam on Thursday gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the case, saying they both were not informed of the change in policy by the then telecom minister A Raja.
According to reports, the JPC said the 2G spectrum was allocated on ‘first come, first serve’ policy and that norms were tweaked to favour a few companies. The JPC said the PM and Chidambaram played no role in tweaking the norms and that it was A Raja who changed the rules without informing the PM. The report further said that the main culprit in the case is then telecom minister A Raja, who changed the norms without informing the prime minister.
Recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party had hit out at JPC Chairman PC Chacko for ‘protecting PM’ and not calling Raja to depose. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had demanded that Raja be called to depose as he was equally culpable as the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister in the case. Reacting to the report, CPI spokesperson D Raja said that his party, through its representation in the JPC, would submit a dissent note. ‘This is a report of the Congress. The chairman of the JPC is a Congress member. Why should we agree?’ he asked.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said her party would submit a dissent note on the JPC report. ‘We will submit our point of view on the JPC report. We could not have expected anything better from the JPC. It’s expected to cover up acts of the government,’ she said.
Earlier this month, the prime minister had rejected charges levelled by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and refused to appear before the JPC looking into the 2G case. In a letter to Sinha, he reiterated that neither the government nor he had anything to hide in the 2G matter.
‘You are aware that all pertinent records and documents available with the government have already been placed at the disposal of the JPC. I have said from the beginning that neither the government nor I have anything to hide in this matter,’ the Prime Minister had said.
According to reports, the JPC said the 2G spectrum was allocated on ‘first come, first serve’ policy and that norms were tweaked to favour a few companies. The JPC said the PM and Chidambaram played no role in tweaking the norms and that it was A Raja who changed the rules without informing the PM. The report further said that the main culprit in the case is then telecom minister A Raja, who changed the norms without informing the prime minister.
Recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party had hit out at JPC Chairman PC Chacko for ‘protecting PM’ and not calling Raja to depose. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had demanded that Raja be called to depose as he was equally culpable as the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister in the case. Reacting to the report, CPI spokesperson D Raja said that his party, through its representation in the JPC, would submit a dissent note. ‘This is a report of the Congress. The chairman of the JPC is a Congress member. Why should we agree?’ he asked.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said her party would submit a dissent note on the JPC report. ‘We will submit our point of view on the JPC report. We could not have expected anything better from the JPC. It’s expected to cover up acts of the government,’ she said.
Earlier this month, the prime minister had rejected charges levelled by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and refused to appear before the JPC looking into the 2G case. In a letter to Sinha, he reiterated that neither the government nor he had anything to hide in the 2G matter.
‘You are aware that all pertinent records and documents available with the government have already been placed at the disposal of the JPC. I have said from the beginning that neither the government nor I have anything to hide in this matter,’ the Prime Minister had said.
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