JPC to question Fin Secy over controversial note on 2G auction

NEW DELHI: The controversial March 25 note of the Finance Ministry on 2G auction will be examined by the Joint Parliamentary Committee ( JPC) in its hearing next week when Finance Secretary R S Gujaral will appear before it.

The JPC will question Gujaral on the note which was sent to the PMO and suggested that P Chidambaram, the then Finance Minister, could have prevented the scam.

The JPC, chaired by senior Congress MP PC Chacko, will meet on January 11 and 12, sources said.

The covering letter to the note had said that the note was seen by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Earlier, the JPC had summoned Secretary Economic Affairs R Gopalan and Gujaral on October 31 seeking their explanation on why the 2G note was not provided to the Committee.

Gopalan had told the Committee that the note had nothing new in it as it was a post facto compilation of documents on the 2G issue, the sources said.

Most of the non-UPA members had reportedly told the Finance Ministry official that they were not satisfied with the reply and that the ministry should provide the Committee with all documents, which had helped in the compilation of the controversial note.
The Finance Ministry is learnt to have told the Committee that it will come back to it with the relevant documents.

The opposition BJP has alleged that the Finance Ministry note seen by Mukherjee has been tampered with.

On January 12, the Committee will also take oral evidence of J S Sarma, who was former secretary of the Department of Telecommunications from July 1, 2005 to July 17, 2006.