Lucknow: The UPA government is trying to make
the PAC a "puppet" in its hands and divide it on party lines
when the mandate of the panel is to be bipartisan, Murli
Manohar Joshi, chairperson of the Parliamentary committee that
examined the 2G spectrum scam, Tuesday said.
"It is shocking that four ministers were sitting in the
Parliament office of the Congress and sending chits and giving
directions to their members in the PAC to do this or do that.
In a way they are making PAC a captive committee," Joshi told
reporters here.
He maintained that the PAC is not supposed to work on
party lines.
"They (Union ministers) want to make PAC a puppet.
They want to run it on directions of the government and the
party (Congress). A probe against corruption cannot be held
with these big hurdles," Joshi said.
Union ministers Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram, Pawan
Kumar Bansal and N Narayansamy were present in Parliament on
April 28 when the PAC meeting was on. Joshi has alleged that
they were sending directions to Congress members while the
proceedings were on.
"It is as if they (Congress members) are actors and
these people (ministers) are producers. This is a serious
insult to the Parliamentary process," he said.
The senior BJP leader said while Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh had said that immediate action should be taken
against those indulging in corruption, his own ministerial
colleagues were making all efforts to stop the probe against
corruption.
"Is there no effect of his advice on his Council of
Ministers? The Parliamentary Affairs minister told a PAC
member from another party to be on his side. In PAC there are
no parties. What is this or that side? PAC is above parties
and is bipartisan," Joshi said.
Alleging that SP and BSP had changed sides on the 2G
spectrum probe, he asked the two parties to clarify why they
did so.
"I want to ask SP and BSP to clarify whether they want
to stop the probe against corruption to what it to continue?
In Uttar Pradesh, they fight against each other and at the
Centre they are together. What is the mystery behind it.
People want clear answers as to which party is with and which
against corruption," Joshi said.
He wondered how SP and BSP had changed their stand on
the 2G probe towards the end of the last PAC's term when all
along they had supported the probe.
Joshi also said the bank drafts for applying for the 2G
license were made a day before the announcement and that too
in Mumbai.
Joshi alleged that efforts were being made to get the
PAC report rejected because names of the Prime Minister and
ministers have been mentioned in it.
"An effort is being made to neutralise efforts to stop
corruption," he said.
He said that much thought had been given while
constituting PAC, now it was being said that its report
would be thrown in the basket.
"This is a question of safeguarding the democracy
and punishing the scamsters," he said.
Joshi said that the PAC has recommended that CBI be
freed from government control and a separate law be enacted
for the agency.
"Public Accounts Committee, which probed 2G spectrum
case, has recommended that CBI should be freed from the
government control and a separate act should be enacted for
the agency," he told reporters here.
At present the CBI was working under the provision of
Delhi Police Act.
"Under the new Act provision should be made wherein
the agency should report to Parliament every six months about
status of cases and number of prosecution," Joshi said.
He said that its director should be appointed on the
line of Central Vigilance Commissioner by a committee and the
agency should get powers for transparent investigation.
Joshi said that people should not make efforts to
direct the PAC from behind the curtains.
"Speaker is there to oversee the functioning of the
PAC and this is not the work of the ministers," he said.
The PAC chairman said that no ministry was ready to
tell the quantum of loss in the 2G spectrum scam.
"Initially they were not ready to accept the scam,
then a minister, whose own ministry was probed, gave statement
of zero loss," he said.
He alleged that a day before the licences were to be
given, people knew the name of the beneficiary companies.
"CAG has asked that how it happened that a report
prepared in Mumbai at 10 AM was submitted in Delhi at 10.05
am. This cannot be possible without the connivance of the
ministry concerned," he said.
He alleged that efforts were being made to stall the
PAC probe into 2G spectrum case.
"They want to turn PAC into a captive committee and
and want it to function on the directives of the party and the
government," the PAC chairman alleged.
"Probe cannot proceed like this," he added.
"PAC's job is to track money..from where it's coming
and where it has been spent. It's money of the poor people and
such an attempt is hamper their interest," he said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 16:04