Majority of JPC against giving clean chit to PM

New Delhi: The Congress bid to get a clean chit for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam seemed to be in jeopardy as 15 opposition members of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on telecom expressed lack of confidence in the panel's chair, P C Chacko. 

    The decision of the opposition MPs to seek Chacko's 
removal split the 30-member committee evenly, but worryingly for the Congress, the Samajwadi Party refused to clearly state its position. 
    The SP is not accusing the PM of dereliction of duty but seems to be of the opinion that it would be incorrect to give Singh a clean chit without giving key accused and then telecom minister, A Raja of the DMK, a hearing. In fact, SP MP Shailendra Kumar said the party was not in favour of the draft report which did not factor in Raja's version. 
    BJP, Left and BJD leaders have been coaxing SP boss Mulayam Singh Yadav that not supporting the draft is not as serious a matter as a vote on the floor of Parliament and that the SP should consider abstaining. 
    The SP is the key factor as even an abstention will favour the opposition line-up triggered by the draft report that endorses the UPA's zero-loss theory on the 2G scam but pins a Rs 40,080-crore loss on the Vajpayee government. 
BROAD-SPECTRUM WAR 
The conduct of the chairman of the JPC from the very beginning has been highly partisan, unfair, prejudicious (sic) and unbecoming of the post to which he was appointed — JPC MEMBERS IN THEIR PETITION TO SPEAKER 
We are unanimous that these members (BJP's Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad) need to be removed from (JPC) membership in the interest of justice and fairness — CONG PETITION TO SPEAKER 
The draft report may not be convenient for them, that is why they are demanding my removal after two years 
— PC CHACKO Oppn unity on JPC takes Cong by surprise 
    Hitting back, Congress members on the JPC wrote to Speaker Meira Kumar, demanding the removal of BJP members Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Ravi Shankar Prasad citing conflict of interest on the ground that they were ministers in the NDA government who also headed GoMs on telecom during the period under the panel's review. 
    The tactic was clearly intended to counter the no-trust plea as the three BJP members have been appointed with the consent of Parliament and have been on the panel since March 2011. The Congress does not seem to have anticipated that the draft would unite the Opposition in the manner it has with BJP, Janata Dal (U), DMK, AIADMK, Left, Trinamool and BJD MPs joining hands to petition Kumar on Thursday. 
    Fortified by lunch at the BJD office in Parliament, 14 Opposition MPs met the Speaker to submit identical letters criticizing Chacko for handling the JPC in a "highly partisan, prejudicial and unbecoming manner", alleging that the Congress MP failed to summon key witnesses. 
    In a formulation framed to keep in mind sensitivities of rivals DMK and AIADMK as well as some other parties, the letter did not mention Raja, the PM or Chidambaram but said Chacko failed to call "crucial witnesses" to the panel and did not call a meeting since February 12. 
    Ending speculation about the JD(U)'s alleged ambivalence, the party leader signed a letter along with the BJP as part of the NDA. The second JD(U) member on the panel, R C P Singh, was due to hand in his letter as he was not here in the morning. The Congress viewed the developments with some concern as Chacko met the PM and party chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday morning. The implications of the JPC draft report not being adopted and the consequent embarrassment for the government are learnt to have figured in the deliberations. 
    With half the JPC up in arms, Chacko has a tough job on his hands when the committee meets to consider the draft — the discussion scheduled for Thursday was cancelled as sitting Trinamool Lok Sabha member Ambica Banerjee had passed away. 
    What will worry the Congress is the upbeat mood in the Opposition camp exemplified by CPM's Sitaram Yechury telling other MPs at the luncheon meeting at the BJD office that they were part of a historic occasion, alluding to the spectrum of political opinion represented. 
    The Congress is hoping that the SP does eventually bail it out as in a 15-15 situation, Chacko can use his second or casting vote to break the tie. Otherwise, there is a risk of the official draft being reduced to a minority report, robbing it of the sanctity the ruling coalition had expected. 
    In their petition to the Speaker, Congress MPs said the three BJP members were "very closely associated with the decision-making process in the government from 1998 to 2004, which have come under scrutiny of the JPC". The letter added: "In their capacity as chairmen/members of the GoM/ GoT/GoT-IT and as Union ministers, these members were instrumental in taking major decisions relating to the telecom sector, that are being investigated by the JPC."