2G scam: Sibal paves way for 30-member JPC

Paving the way for the setting up of only the fifth joint parliamentary committee in Indian history, telecom minister Kapil Sibal today moved the Rajya Sabha for setting up a JPC (JPC) on the vexed 2G spectrum affair.

The committee, to be made up of 30 members, will have a majority of representatives from the Congress and its allies. The rest will come from various opposition parties.

The telecom scam, according to the Comptroller & Auditor General of India, may have cost the exchequer up to Rs1.76 lakh crore.  It saw companies getting mobile network licenses at throwaway prices. Since the auditor's office presented its report in November, the telecom controversy has battered the government on a near-daily basis.  

Sibal today echoed the line of defence that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken in recent weeks - that the basic policies followed for the allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008 were not faulty, but their implementation was. The first come, first served policy - which was chosen instead of auction of the valuable resource - is the main reason for India turning into a nation of cellphone users, said Sibal. "The process of implementation was manipulated," he said.    

His remarks did not find much resonance with the opposition BJP. "I cannot hide my disappointment with Mr Sibal's opening remarks," said BJP leader Arun Jaitley. "They had an inbuilt rationalisation" of the telecom scam, he alleged.

The man who allegedly crossed all lines to favour companies who paid him handsomely in return - former telecom minister A Raja - is now in jail. He resigned in November. His party, the DMK, which is a key member of the central government, has said it does not believe he is guilty.