Joshi writes to Speaker on Sibal's attack on CAG

Strongly objecting to telecom minister Kapil Sibal’s attack on the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on spectrum allocation, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar requesting her to take “prompt” and “effective” steps to stop “such constitutional impropriety” by ministers.

Joshi questioned whether it was appropriate for a minister, particularly the one holding charge of the ministry concerned, to cast aspersions on CAG report after it had been tabled in the House. In the letter, the PAC chief questioned whether Sibal had expressed “such views of far-reaching implications and consequences with the knowledge and permission” of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“As Speaker of the Lok Sabha, you are the only authority to whom the PAC can approach for seeking clarification from the minister on the above issues and advise the Committee,” Joshi wrote in the two-page letter dated January 19, copies of which were distributed to the media.

Sibal had rubbished the findings of the CAG in 2G spectrum allocation that the loss to the exchequer was to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh crore and said the calculations were “erroneous”.

Joshi also enclosed clippings of newsreports on Sibal’s press conference and a CD of an interview given by the minister to a TV channel. “The statement (by Sibal) raises several issues regarding parliamentary propriety and preserving and respecting the independence of the CAG - an institution established by the Constitution - and the PAC, a Committee elected by the Parliament” he said.

He said the three issues needed to be addressed in the light of Sibal’s statement.

“I, therefore, beseech you to take prompt steps to prevent the recurrence of such constitutional impropriety on the part of the ministers. I am afraid if a situation of confrontation between ministers and other constitutional authorities and the Parliamentary Committees develops, then the days of healthy and vibrant democracy are numbered,” Joshi’s letter said.