JPC report on 2G tabled in Lok Sabha amid din, DMK walks out

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 today tabled in Lok Sabha amid pandemonium.

The report was tabled in the Lok Sabha by JPC Chairman P C Chacko after Speaker Meira Kumar disallowed any debate on the issue at the presentation stage during Zero Hour.

This prompted members of DMK, UPA's erstwhile partner, and Opposition members, including those from the BJP, Left, Trinamool Congress, BJD and Shiromani Akali Dal, to stand up in protest.

Yashwant Sinha, Harin Pathak (both BJP), Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) and Kalyan Banerjee (Trinamool) shouted that the report was a "fraud" on the Constitution, while DMK members walked out of the House.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani also rose to say something to the Speaker but could not be heard in the din.

DMK members, including T R Baalu and former Telecom Minister A Raja, later returned to the House and trooped into the Well as one of their members tore some papers, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings till 2 PM.

Apart from giving a clean chit to the Prime Minister, it rubbishes the loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore estimated by CAG, saying it was "ill-conceived". Opposition members in the JPC have termed it as a "bundle of contradictions".
Before allowing Chacko to table the report, the Speaker said she had received a communication from BJP leader Yashwant Sinha objecting to violation of rules during deliberations of the JPC. Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI) had sought to raise objections on the issue, she said.

Kumar said there was no provision in the rules permitting a discussion or raising of objections before presentation of a report adopted by a JPC.

"I am, therefore, not inclined to allow any debate or permit raising of objections at the stage of presentation of the report of the JPC," she said as opposition members rose in protest.

In the report which delved into the period between 1998 and 2009, 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 unparliamentary. Dissent notes are a way to record members' objections to the findings and are appended with the final report.

Eleven opposition members, including five of BJP and one each of BJD, TMC, CPI, CPI(M), AIADMK and DMK had 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, A 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 accused 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.