PAC has every authority to call PM: Murli Manohar Joshi

New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) On a day when JPC into the 2Gscam was set up, the Public Accounts Committee Chairman MurliManohar Joshi said his panel has every authority to ask PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh to appear before it.

"Absoultely (we can call the PM). We are still inpossession of the letter written by the Prime Minister and ifthe committee feels it is necessary to call him we can do so,"Joshi said in reply to a question.

Joshi''s remarks come on a day when the government set upa 30-member Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into the 2Gspectrum allocation scam which is said to have caused apresumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the nationalexchequer.

Asked when the Committee would call the Prime Minister toappear before the PAC, Joshi said "you will get to know whenthe committee decides".

Singh, in December, had written to the PAC expressing hiswillingness to appear before the panel in connection with the2G scam.

In his letter, Singh said he was willing to appear beforethe panel should it choose to seek clarifications from him"though I believe there is no precedent of the Prime Ministerappearing before a PAC".

Joshi said he will have to explain to Speaker Meira Kumarthe logic for calling the Prime Minister to appear before it.

If the Speaker agrees, then the PAC can call the PrimeMinister, he said.