New Delhi, Apr. 9 (ANI): Asserting that there is nothing wrong in asking Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram about certain aspects of the policies on 2G, Communist party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Tuesday fully backed senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha's demand and sought an explanation from Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chairman P.C Chacko on the issue.
"What is wrong in asking the Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister about certain aspects of the policies? I think with due respect to Mr. Manmohan Singh, he himself said that it is for the JPC to take a stand, decide whether he should go or not. What is the hurdle for JPC to take a view on this? Why this should become an issue? This is what JPC chairman will have to explain," Raja told Asian News International (ANI) here.
"The members of the JPC will have to address this question with all seriousness keeping in view the country is agitated and the country wants to know the truth how the policies were manipulated and who all are to be made answerable, accountable. That's where I think there is a very fair case in asking the Prime Minister or the then Finance Minister to appear before the JPC. It is for the JPC chairman and the members how they are going to address this question," he added.
Raja further said the policies with regard to 2G needs to be examined whether the policies were manipulated or were bent in order to favour a few corporate houses, multinationals corporations.
"How the implementation of these policies led to such a huge loss for the country, for the people? Exactly, the JPC is examining the policy matters. The then Telecom Minister A. Raja has been repeatedly claiming he took all the decisions with the full knowledge of Prime Minister in consultation with all the senior colleagues in the Cabinet that includes the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram," said Raja.
"Now, he himself wanted to appear before the JPC. We think that it is a fair request. Why JPC did not give him an opportunity to appear before it and listen to his version?" he asked.
Sinha has written a letter to the Prime Minister stating he is 'surprised and disappointed' over his refusal to depose before the JPC on 2G scam.
Expressing his unhappiness with the Prime Minister's response, Sinha today said that he sent him a reply yesterday commenting upon all the three issues raised by him.
"I said if the JPC were to come to conclusions only on the basis of records and documents then it has wasted its time in trying to call witnesses to depose before it. The second point I made is that you had made a grand offer to appear before the PAC knowing full well that just as the JPC has a right to call anyone, the PAC also had a right minus the ministers and the Prime Minister; but still you made this grand offer if you are right then how can you not be wrong now," said Sinha.
"The third point I made is that whether you have something to hide or not is a question, which I will contest because the government has been hiding documents from the JPC and you are all aware that very important documents were brought to the JPC only after it came in the public domain through the media and the JPC demanded that those documents should be placed before the JPC," he added.
Sinha further said in his letter that it was decided in the JPC that all departments of the government should make available to the panel all the documents on the 2G matter, but even after this they failed to do so.
Reiterating that neither the government nor he has anything to hide in the 2G matter, the Prime Minister replied to Yashwant Sinha's letter on April 2, and said that the decision regarding which individuals should be asked to appear before JPC is a matter that is to be decided by the committee and its chairman.
Dr. Singh in his letter said that all pertinent records and documents available with the government have already been placed with the Joint Parliamentary Committee looking into the 2G matter.
Sinha, who has described the functioning of the JPC on 2G scam as "scandalous", had demanded that the Prime Minister and Finance Minister appear before it for the truth to come out.
Sinha, also a member of the JPC, had raised serious objections over not convening of the panel meeting for two months now and demanded that then Telecom Minister A. Raja, who has been wanting to appear before the JPC, be allowed to do so as he is a key witness in the scam.
Sinha had earlier lashed out at the JPC chairman for not inviting A. Raja to depose before it in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, saying it's a very serious issue.
He alleged that the parliamentary panel is being used to conceal truth in the 2G scam.
Chacko had expressed his displeasure over Sinha's latter to the Prime Minister, and termed it to be a "political stunt and against norms".
Raja was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet after a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum, and added that the government had probably lost Rs. 1.76 lakh crore in estimated revenue. (ANI)
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