BJP softens at 2G House panel meet

In signs of toning down their attack, BJP members on Thursday attended the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G spectrum allocation. The presence of BJP members in the meeting comes after their almost two-month-long boycott.

Though BJP leaders reiterated their demand for calling PM Manmohan Singh as witness, it was struck down by JPC chief P C Chacko. Even the Left did not show much enthusiasm in the matter. ‘It is out of question to call the Prime Minister before the JPC as witness as there is no precedent,’ said Chacko. However, a decision to call the Finance Minister P Chidambaram will be taken in the another meeting. The stance on Thursday of not being adamant for the PM’s deposition indicates the BJP  is willing to let go of their demand as they are missing out on deposition of key witnesses. BJP members Yashwant Singha and Ravi Shankar Prasad said they would like to put some questions to the prime minister.

The BJP, however, may keep up its ante against Chidambaram, as former cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar, while deposing before the JPC, had said he had favoured the entry fee for 2G spectrum allocation to be Rs 35,000 crore, about 21 times the amount on which the allocation was made so that the government could earn more revenue. Even the Left has demanded calling the finance minister to understand why the finance ministry, which had insisted on selling 2G spectrum based on market forces, decided to support the DoT’s move to allocate radiowaves on first-come-first-served basis.

Regarding the questioning of JPC members Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh, a meeting will be held at later stage to take a call on this issue. There were some heated exchanges when a Congress member demanded calling former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a witness. JPC may seek a fresh extension, the fourth since it was constituted in March last year.