JPC unlikely to call Raja as witness

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), probing the 2G telecom spectrum allocation scam, is unlikely to call former Telecom Minister A Raja as a witness before it.
Dropping broad hints regarding it, Congress spokesperson and JPC Chairman P C Chacko today said that "no rule specifies the right of a man to appear before a Committee."
"No such rule exists that a man has a right to appear before a Committee. A man may be called for the benefit of a Committee or before the JPC but it has to be decided that whether calling him is beneficial for the Committee," he said.

At the same time, Chacko said that he was not denying Raja's demand for coming before a Committee.
"I still do not deny his right to write for appearance before a Committee," Chacko said but maintained that the JPC headed by him was not going into piecemeal or one or two incidents but the whole gamut of telecom policy and its implementation in 10 years.
"In ten years, there are so many accused persons," he said but denied a categorical answer whether the JPC would call Raja saying "no casual yes or no" answer is possible.

He denied that the majority in the JPC are in favour of calling Raja but added "offcourse I have received a letter from Raja. Some members do feel that why can't we call him if he has given a letter for this."

Chacko had earlier said,"the general impression among the committee members is that all principal witnesses have been examined and it is time we start writing the report. But I will take any decision on calling Raja after discussing the issue with other members".
Raja had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Chacko last month making a strong pitch for appearance before the JPC as a witness claiming that he has been "condemned unheard".