Govt unfazed by Murli Manohar Joshi's move to revive 2G draft report

The government is confident of shaking off fresh attempts by PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi to revive his controversial draft report on the 2G issue by once again circulating it among the members of the parliamentary panel.

A senior minister who declined to be identified said government was unfazed by the action and is more than sure that the numbers are on its side.

Besides UPA partners, it counts on the support of SP and BSP. While Congress has seven members in the committee headed by Joshi, BSP is represented by two members. NCP, DMK and SP have one member each.

During the June 28 meeting when Joshi had tried to place the draft report before the committee, BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra had said that members would not be able to take a stand till they go through the report.

The BJP, on the other hand, has four members in PAC. AIADMK, Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Biju Janata Dal and CPM have one member each.

Joshi circulated the report to the PAC members with a forwarding letter that he was sending them the draft report again after consulting legal experts, rules of procedures and "past precedents".

In his letter to the members, Joshi said he has consulted the experts, looked into precedents and referred to rule books and he believes the draft report is the "unfinished agenda of the previous PAC".

Angered by Joshi's action, a Congress member of the PAC, Sanjay Nirupam, has demanded removal of the senior BJP leader as Chairman of the Committee for "degrading the prestigious body".