2G scam: FM rules out JPC, says PAC to study report

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today sought cooperation from all political parties in Parliament and urged them not to obstruct the proceedings of the House over the 2G spectrum allocation controversy.

He said when the government opposed a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the scam it did not mean that the matter should not be investigated and that a similar body could look at it.

“I am deeply concerned about the situation which is being created where Parliament cannot transact its business. My appeal to all political parties is that please try to find a solution… When I oppose JPC, or the government opposes JPC, it is not that the matter should not be investigated,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a Canara Bank function.

He further said the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the 2G scam would be examined by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament and necessary action would be taken after that.

“Further evidences will be called for (by PAC) and then the final conclusion could be arrived at,” he said at the Hindustan Times Leadership summit here.

PAC is set up by Parliament every year to examine the accounts on public spending. It also scrutinises CAG reports.

The Opposition has been demanding a JPC probe into the spectrum controversy and has interrupted Parliament proceedings in the last one week.

The CAG report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, had said that former communications minister A Raja’s actions resulted in a revenue loss of Rs 1.40 lakh crore to the government, besides another Rs 36,000 crore for allocating additional spectrum to the existing operators, taking the total losses to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

The communications ministry, however, had said new licences and the 2G spectrum were distributed on the basis of the existing policy which was followed by other communications ministers before Raja, who resigned last Sunday.

Khurshid on 2G row
Willing to play a role in examining the 2G spectrum scam, Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said his ministry would inspect the books of companies involved in the muddle, provided a reference is made to it.