2G Spectrum Scam: Why is BJP demanding a JPC?

The logjam in the parliament over the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G Spectrum Scam does not seem to end with the Opposition parties not budging from their demand.

The Congress Party and the UPA Government is also in no mood to oblige the Opposition on their demand for a JPC. The deadlock in the parliament over the issue has resulted in the loss of 16 working days. The government has held several All-Party meets to resolve the issue without any success.

Canary Trap brings you details of why the government and the Opposition are not willing to compromise on their stands.

The Congress top brass, including Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, and  Ahmed Patel met on November 16 in the office of the Congress President at the Parliament Annexe, sources said. It was decided in this meeting that the government will stick to its stand of referring the issue of 2G Spectrum Scam to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The committee is being led by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.

The Congress leadership present in the meeting was of the view that since the veteran BJP leader was not on very good terms with his present party leadership, he could be more amenable to government’s viewpoint on the issue.

Sources in the BJP have also confirmed to Canary Trap that some senior party leaders like Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley do not want Joshi (as PAC head) to investigate the 2G scam. According to them he has an independent viewpoint and things might get out of their control. It is also feared that if that happens they might not be able to use the 2G Spectrum Scam issue for political gains in the time to come.

BJP’s strategists believe that if a JPC probe is ordered then they can use the issue for a longer period of time (Assembly Polls in certain states next year and General Elections in 2014). Also, the members of the JPC can keep on widening the scope of the inquiry, and can even summon the Prime Minister to appear before it.

At an all-party meeting, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee even proposed a multi-disciplinary probe along with the PAC. But the BJP rejected it on the ground that only JPC can investigate the scam of such a huge magnitude.

While the government and the Opposition parties waste precious parliamentary time over what type of inquiry should be setup, no attention is being paid to immediate measures to be taken to undo the wrongdoings committed. The investigations can go into the details of the scam and the players involved. But it is equally important to take immediate action against companies that benefited from arbitrary spectrum allocation at lower prices.