PAC probe not enough, non-BJP Opposition leaders tell Meira

NEW DELHI: The non-BJP Opposition parties on Friday told the Congress that a bigger falling out will occur between the Opposition and the government if the latter fails to act on the demand for a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scandal.

The leaders of the non-BJP parties, who interacted with the Congress leadership at Speaker Meira Kumar’s residence, made it plain that they would not back down from the demand for a JPC probe. The speaker has been holding talks with leaders of political parties to thrash out differences between the treasury and the Opposition.

CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat, CPM Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury and JD(U) Chief Sharad Yadav were among those who attended Friday’s meeting.

BJP leaders, who met Meira Kumar on Thursday, had reiterated the party’s position that a PAC probe was not enough and that policy issues can be investigated only by a JPC. The government has been maintaining that since the PAC and investigating agencies are currently examining the issue, there was no need for a probe by a new panel.

The government was also banking on BJP leader Murli Manmohar Joshi’s activism in the PAC to offer it an escape route. But this suffered a setback when the BJP extracted a promise from Joshi that he would not come in the way of the demand for a JPC.

“As PAC chairperson I am discharging my statutory responsibilities. As a member of the NDA and Opposition, I have been supporting the demand for the JPC. These two have no contradictions. They are two parallel agencies. One is already functioning, the other is being demanded,” Joshi reiterated on Friday.