Congress keeps up attack on PAC vs JPC issue

New Delhi, Apr 6: The Congress today (Apr 6) kept up its attack on the BJP over the PAC versus JPC controversy, saying the panel headed by opposition leader M M Joshi should defer to JPC as his party has contended that it does not have the "policy remit" in the 2G spectrum probe.

After the PAC took "serious note" of his comments that the BJP should ask Joshi to stick to PAC's mandate, party spokesperson Manish Tewari today said, "I respect Murli Manohar Joshi personally. It's not an issue concerning PAC rather it is linked with BJP's opportunistic politics."

Joshi, who heads the PAC and whose actions in the 2G probe have been strongly opposed by the JPC Chairman P C Chacko, plans to write to Tewari, who is also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) set up to go into the 2G scam.

Tewari today said, "If BJP is correct that the the PAC does not have a policy remit, then the PAC needs to defer to the JPC, which obviously has a wider and focused mandate on telecom issues.

"If PAC or Joshi is correct then BJP should apologise to the nation for washing out the entire winter session of Parliament seeking JPC on the premise that PAC cannot go into policy issues," the Congress MP said.

He had yesterday alleged that the "duplicity" and "opportunism" of BJP in demanding JPC had been exposed by the way the PAC had taken up the 2G probe.

After a meeting of Public Accounts Committee yesterday, Joshi had said, "a Congress leader Manish Tewari has said that the BJP should rein in Dr Joshi. The PAC has taken serious note of Tewari's comments.

"We have to confirm the veracity of the comments. The Committee has authorised me to take appropriate steps," he said.

Sticking to his guns, the Congress spokesperson said, "It is not rocket science to infer that two benches of the same court cannot hear the same case. So in the light of what has been expressed, it is for the BJP to take a call on it."

PTI