PAC split on 2G scam report

The probe into the 2G telecommunications scam by the public accounts committee (PAC) of parliament is fast degenerating into a vicious battle between the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and the BJP-dominated National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

As the current PAC headed by Murli Manohar Joshi meets for the last time on Thursday, the battle-lines are clearly drawn between the two political groupings. Efforts are on by the two sides to woo the 'independents' whose decision would be crucial as to whether the final PAC report is adopted or carried forward to the next one. The current PAC's tenure ends on April 30.

The 21-member PAC includes nine members of the UPA (seven from the Congress and two from its ally, the DMK), and six from the NDA (four from the BJP, including Joshi, and one each from the Janata Dal United and Shiv Sena). Two additional MPs from the AIADMK are backing the NDA, as the PAC report attacks its rival, the DMK.

It is the remaining four members whose decision is crucial to the outcome of the report. The four include one each from the Biju Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Communist Party (Marxist). The Congress is trying to get the support of at least three of the four independents, which would tilt the balance in its favour.

The Congress has accused Joshi of trying to destabilise the UPA government by producing a report that is highly critical of the government. The veteran BJP leader had earlier annoyed his party when he insisted on the PAC taking up the 2G scam – even as the official BJP line was to get a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the irregularities.

However, even though a JPC has finally been set up, the PAC has been going about investigating the scam. The draft of the final report, which was leaked to the media, contains a damning indictment of the UPA government, including prime minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P. Chidambaram, who was the finance minister at the time of the allocation of 2G spectrum, besides of course, A. Raja, the then telecommunications minister, now under custody.

Reacting to the leakage of the draft, the Congress attacked Joshi, accusing him of malafide intentions and demanding his resignation. ''Joshi should resign as PAC chairman, as we fear he may table the report without our view,'' said K.S. Rao, a Congress MP and member of the PAC. ''Many of the statements in the report are false, malicious and perverse and the conclusions are biased and pre-determined.''