2G spectrum scam: MM Joshi says demand of parliamentary probe carries weight

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who heads the public accounts committee (PAC), today said the opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum issue carried weight as it had the support of "many MPs".

"All demands are meaningful. Nothing is meaningless," he told reporters outside Parliament House when asked to comment on the home minister's statement that the demand for a JPC probe is 'meaningless'.

The government has all along rejected the demand for a JPC probe and said that the PAC was competent enough to look into the matter.

When asked whether the demand for a JPC carried any weight, Joshi said when it has the support of "so many MPs, how could it lack weight".

The BJP veteran, however, refused to comment on whether the matter should be dealt with by the PAC or the JPC. "I have no comment to offer... It is the prerogative of the MPs," he said.

Last week, parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal had claimed that by demanding a JPC probe, the BJP had expressed "no-confidence in the PAC and its chairman Joshi".