JPC report on 2G scam submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker

The controversial report of JPC, which gave a clean chit to PM Manmohan Singh in 2G spectrum scam, was on Tuesday submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker.

New Delhi: The controversial report of the JPC, which gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the 2G spectrum scam saying he was "misled" by the then Telecom Minister A Raja, was on Tuesday submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

The report, on which six parties have submitted dissent notes, also rubbishes the loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore estimated by CAG, saying it was "ill-conceived". JPC Chairman P C Chacko submitted the report along with the dissent notes, which termed it as a "bundle of contradictions" to the Speaker at her official residence. The report, which delved into the period between 1998 and 2009, will be tabled in Parliament in the Winter Session likely to commence in the first week of December. Chacko is learnt to have used his power to "edit" five of the six dissent notes to redraft the language which, according to him, was unparliamentarily. The dissent notes are a way to record members` objections to the findings and are appended with the final report when it is tabled. Eleven opposition members, including BJP`s 5 and one each of BJD, TMC, CPI, CPI(M), AIADMK and DMK voted against the JPC report. BJP`s Gopinath Munde had not attended the meeting. In its dissent note, BJP insisted that the Prime Minister and then Finance Minister P Chidambaram should have been asked to depose before the JPC. They regretted that even though the main accused, Raja, had made several offers to depose before the panel, he was not allowed to do so. The report, which was adopted by majority vote on September 27 in the absence of two JD(U) members, also accuses Raja of forging the press note of January 7, 2008, after it was seen by the then Solicitor General G E Vahanvati. Besides Congress, its UPA ally NCP and outside supporters of the ruling alliance SP and BSP had supported the report.