2G scam: Joshi continues to bat for original PAC report

The chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, Murli Manohar Joshi of the BJP, has not given up trying to get the panel's report tabled in the house, despite continuing opposition from the UPA members and the rejection by Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar.

Joshi is reportedly going all out to get the opposition members on the panel to close ranks, and get constitutional experts to back him up. He has only about two weeks to push through the previous report before a reconstituted new PAC meets again in the second week of July.

The PAC witnessed vociferous scenes on Tuesday as Joshi read out a letter from Meira Kumar stating that the "draft report" cannot be tabled as it is yet to be adopted by the committee.

The draft report was adopted by the PAC amid a boycott by members belonging to the UPA, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP. While the UPA members had objected to the content, the SP and the BSP members said they were not given enough time to study the report.

The PAC is constituted every year under Rule 308 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha. The Speaker reconstituted the PAC in April, with Joshi continuing as the panel's chairman.

At Tuesday's meeting, Joshi read out Kumar's letter to him on the "draft report", which also quoted his letter to her. The letter mentioned "disorderly behaviour" by some members during the PAC's 28 April meeting.

The Speaker has reportedly assured Joshi that she would look into the issue "separately". The UPA members demanded that Joshi's letter be circulated among the members. K S Rao, who was a member in the last PAC too, wanted to know the reasons for Joshi writing the letter.

Joshi said it could not be circulated as it was a matter of the last committee. After a heated argument, Joshi told the panel that he would consult constitutional experts. (See: PAC members block bid to table 2G scam report)