Taking a jibe at Yashwant Sinha over his demand to call Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G spectrum scam, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Tuesday said the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader would be disappointed as he did not find a place in the newly constituted executive of the main opposition party.
“First of all, I think there would be a certain amount of disappointment that a person like Mr. Yashwant Sinha unfortunately did not find a place in the newly constituted executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party. But be that as it may since I have served on the Joint Parliamentary Committee, it is not appropriate for me to really be commenting on its proceedings suffice to say that this matter was raised in the JPC and the JPC had very squarely rejected all these demands,” said Tewari.
“If I understand correctly from the newspaper reports, they are in the process of now drafting their report. And I think the evidentiary phase seems to have run its course. But again as I said that since I have served on this very august institution, it may perhaps not be appropriate for me to say anything further than this,” he added.
Sinha has written a letter to the Prime Minister, asking him to appear before the JPC probing the 2G spectrum scam.
Sinha, who is also a member of the JPC, citing former Telecom Minister A Raja”s communication in his letter has asked Dr. Singh to appear before the committee to clear his name following allegations levelled against him.
In his letter, Sinha said any hesitation on the part of the Prime Minister to appear before the JPC will prove that he has something to hide.
Sinha also pointed out that when Parliament”s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was examining the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the 2G scam, the Prime Minister had publicly offered to appear before it to enable the committee to reach the “right conclusions”.
“I think it is in your own personal interest to appear before the JPC and clear your name. You may also suggest to the Finance Minister to make a similar offer,” he wrote.
Sinha also asked Dr. Singh to request JPC Chairman PC Chacko to call Raja as a witness before the committee.
Sinha had earlier lashed out at Chacko for not inviting A. Raja to depose before it in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, saying it”s a very serious issue.
Sinha alleged that the parliamentary panel is being used to conceal truth in the 2G scam.
“It”s important for A. Raja who is a crucial witness to appear and he is also offering, himself offering to appear before the JPC. For some strange reason, our chairman P C Chacko is neither calling a meeting of the JPC nor is inviting Raja to appear as a witness. There is something seriously wrong,” said Sinha.
“I think the JPC is being used now to conceal the truth rather than expose the truth. It”s a very very serious issue. I therefore, propose to write to the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) as well as to the Lok Sabha speaker to put pressure on Chacko to allow Raja to appear before the JPC,” he added.
Sinha, who is also a member of the JPC, along with Left members of the Committee has been backing the former Telecom Minister”s plea to depose before the panel.
Raja was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet after a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum, and added that the government had probably lost Rs. 1.76 lakh crore in estimated revenue. (ANI)