UPA in minority in Public Accounts Committee, may not get SP-BSP support

NEW DELHI: The Congress appears to be heading for major troubles in the Public Accounts Committee as the ruling side is now in a minority on the panel. With the panel, which came out with a damning report on the 2G scandal, expected to take up CAG reports on the CWG scandal and the aircraft purchases this year, the Opposition is certain to get fresh opportunities to put the government in the dock.

Congress MP Jayanthi Natarajan's elevation as a Union minister has aggravated problems for the ruling side.

The Congress may not be able to elect a member from its ranks in the event of the Opposition sponsoring a joint candidate. This possibility cannot be ruled out as Opposition parties have been coordinating their strategy during the panel's deliberations.

What could also upset the Congress' calculations are the anti-Congress positions of the SP and the BSP.

While the BSP has two members on the panel, the SP is represented by one member.

In the 22-member panel, the UPA has only 10 members. The anti-UPA parties, which include the BJD and the AIADMK, too, have 10 members. With political temperature in the election-bound Uttar Pradesh hotting up, the three members from the BSP and SP could tilt the scales in favour of the Opposition.

The CAG reports on CWG and aircraft purchases have indicted various arms of the government. The CAG has held the sports department, urban development ministry, Delhi government and the Organising Committee for the scandal.

The aircraft purchase scandal report could be equally damaging as it has blamed an interministerial panel for forcing the state-run airline to purchase 50 planes from Boeing.

Noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan has already approached the Supreme Court with a PIL on the issue.

The functioning of the JPC, constituted for probing the telecom scam, is also worrying for the government. Its chairman PC Chacko has not been successful in running the panel effectively.

The ruling side will also have to find replacements for Kishore Chandra Deo, Paban Singh Ghatowar and Jayanthi Natarajan, who were made ministers in the last reshuffle.