Fresh war of words in Joint Parliamentary Committee over calling Prime Minister

NEW DELHI: A fresh war of words erupted in JPC examining 2G scam with chairman P C Chacko today rubbishing as a "political stunt" a demand by BJP that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh depose before it.

Chacko questioned BJP member Yashwant Sinha's letter to the Prime Minister asking him to appear before the committee in the light of former Telecom Minister A Raja's "serious allegations" against him.

A day after asking Singh to appear before the JPC to "clear" his name, Sinha alleged today that Raja was being prevented from deposing as it would lead to "serious trouble" for the Prime Minister and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

Slamming Sinha's action, Chacko told PTI, "How can a member of the JPC write a letter to the Prime Minister? It is for the committee to take a decision. It is only a political stunt and against norms of Parliamentary procedure."

Chacko said Sinha's letter has "no relevance" as decisions including calling a minister have to be taken by the committee and "not individuals."

When pointed out that Sinha has asked the Prime Minister to volunteer himself as a witness before JPC, Chacko said, "even if the Prime Minister wants he cannot appear before the JPC. That's the norm which applies to all of us."

Sinha's demand was supported by his party, with spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman questioning the resistance by the Congress and the government to any move to call the Prime Minister and Chidambaram besides Raja before the JPC.

Raja has been repeatedly requesting the JPC to call him for deposition. After being denied the opportunity, he wrote to the committee last month, saying the Prime Minister was in the loop over decisions taken regarding the controversial allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008.