JPC, PAC set for a conflict over 2G probe jurisdiction

Claims to the contrary by their chairmen apart, the joint parliamentary and public accounts committees are likely to end up stepping on each other’s toes as they probe the 2G spectrum scam.

Of the two issues the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) looked into at its first meeting on Thursday, one is sure to bring it into conflict with the public accounts committee (PAC). Although in the constitutional scheme of things, PAC has an edge, JPC members are likely to seek Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar’s permission to enter its domain — extravagant spending of public money.

“There is no area of conflict between the two bodies,” JPC and PAC chairmen PC Chacko and MM Joshi said on Thursday. But the former has decided to refer the issue of committee conflict along with that of conflict of individual interests of JPC members to Kumar for a final verdict.

Chacko said none of the 30 JPC members had conflict of interest and seven had given in writing so. However, the main concern for him is to determine whether some former ministers who are on the panel figure in the conflict category.

“They were either telecom ministers in different governments from 1998 to 2008 or members of the group of ministers on this subject. The committee has decided to refer this issue also to the speaker,” Chacko said, adding, “The issue of conflict of interest between the two panels in this regard [probing spending of public money] will also be decided by the speaker.”

A senior parliamentarian connected with such committees in the past said PAC was a statutory body, whereas JPC had been formed for a specific purpose and will be dissolved after that function is over.

Chacko, however, said PAC was concerned only with monitoring spending of public money and had nothing to do with policy matters. “JPC’s terms of reference are related to policy matters but it might have to look into the extravagant spending aspect also,” he said.

Joshi countered, saying PAC was a permanent committee and could always look at all aspects of the scam. “It is only now that a JPC has been set up. It is only now that the issue has come up before the Supreme Court [SC] and the enforcement directorate. PAC has been probing the scam since January 2010, even before the comptroller and auditor general report on it came out,” he said.