Opposition demands rejection of JPC report offering clean chit to PM, FM

By Venus Kumar for ZeroHour News

The Joint Parliamentary Committee constituted to probe the 2G corruption scandal will meet in the
Parliament House later this afternoon with the non-Congress government expected to push for a vote on
the draft report. The draft, which was leaked earlier to the media, reportedly provides a clean chit to the
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

JPC Chairman P Chacko although adverse to the idea of a vote is expected to concede to the demand
of the opposition members. Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has continued to push for a vote and is
reportedly in touch with several members of the DMK, BJD and Left to explore common ground.

“You had said in your letter of April 2 that you had nothing to hide. (But) your deafening silence on the
allegations made by your own colleague in the Cabinet completely disapproves the stand you had taken,”
pointed Sinha in a letter to the Prime Minister earlier this month.

Chacko, meanwhile, is keener to avoid a vote citing historical precedence; opposition however will
register its protest either way.

“If we can retain our entire strength of 15 MPs, we will strongly press for the rejection of the report.
Otherwise, the official draft will be adopted with dissent notes,” said a senior member from the
opposition camp.

The JPC is comprised of 11 Congress members, besides Chairman Chako and one member of its alliance
partner Nationalist Congress. Principal opposition party BJP meanwhile has six members of its own with
alliance partner JDU having two members.

DMK, although an ally of the Congress until recently, will oppose the report given the fact that it is
expected to place the entire blame of the scandal at the doorstep of former Telecom Minister A Raja.
Fellow Davidian party, AIADMK, with one member in the committee will also vote against the report.

The SP, BJD, TMC, AIADMK, CPI and CPI-M are the other constituents of the Committee with one
member each and are currently being wooed by both the government and the opposition to secure their
crucial votes.