Panel likely to let off Ronen Sen

New Delhi, Nov 16 (UNI) Indian Ambassador to US Ronen Sen is expected to be let off the hook for his controversial ' headless chickens'' remark as a key Parliamentary panel today took a lenient view of the issue and reportedly closed the case.

The Lok Sabha Privileges Committee which met here today, recommended that Mr Sen be let off with a word of caution for his 'act of indiscretion' for the controversial remark he had made against critics of the Indo-US nuclear deal, sources said.

In the wake of his unqualified apology, the Committee headed by senior Congress MP V Kishore Chandra Deo decided to treat the matter as closed, Committee sources said, adding the report would be placed before the House next week.

The Privileges Committee of the Rajya Sabha which is also looking into the issue, is meeting on November 20 but it too had not been harsh on Mr Sen when it had summoned him sometime back like the Lok Sabha panel.

A draft of the report on Mr Sen was considered and approved by the Lok Sabha Committee which held that there was no breach of privilege or contempt of the House by the Indian envoy.

Maintaining that the remark was not against MPs but targeted at the media, it felt that it was '' lamentably naive'' for the senior diplomat to make such an unguarded comment even in an informal chat.

Mr Sen's remarks had created a furore in both the Houses of Parliament in the monsoon session leading to demands that he be called to the Bar of the House.

Today's meeting also considered the issue of codification of privileges and the issue of demands by courts and investigating agencies for Parliamentary documents, sources added.

UNI