Singhvi recusal from JPC gives Cong handle to needle BJP

New Delhi, Mar 1: With Abhishek Singhvi recusing himself from the JPC, Congress has got the handle to needle the BJP over the continuance of Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh in the panel that will go into the 2G Spectrum allocation case.

"We have not taken any official view on that yet," was the reaction of Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan, who has now taken the place of Singhvi in the JPC.

A union minister spoke in a similar vein, noting, "We did not raise this issue of Sinha and Singh being a part of JPC when the Motion for formation of the JPC on 2G was moved in the Lok Sabha. We have not demanded it."

Since the Motion, which includes the names of the JPC members, is moved by the government the candidates are understood to have the approval of the ruling party, the union minister said.

"The JPC is also like a coalition where we have little say. Each party is like a coalition partner which nominates its members to the JPC," he said.

As per the rules, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and Speaker of Lok Sabha cannot remove such a member against whom an objection is raised. In case of a member resigning or his death, a Motion has to be moved to include a new member.

"This case is peculiar and incongruous. A Congress member could not have opposed a Motion moved by his own senior leader like Pranab Mukherjee, who had moved it," said the minister.

However, the Congress now has a moral high ground to take on the BJP on this issue. It may also choose to go after the main opposition through its allies who are also a part of the JPC.

PTI