Pawan Bansal tears into NDA for pressuring PCA chief Murli Manohar Joshi

The government launched a scathing attack on opposition NDA on Wednesday for what it called a “breach of parliamentary privilege”.

“NDA leaders, by pressuring PAC [public accounts committee] chairman Murli Manohar Joshi to go slow on the probe into the CAG report on the 2G spectrum allocation scam, are devaluing and denigrating our 90-year-old parliamentary institution,” parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal said.

He was commenting on media reports that Joshi, a senior BJP leader, had come under fire from fellow opposition leaders, including former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha, for his “overdrive” as PAC chairman. Joshi had asked former bureaucrats Pradip Baijal and S Behuria to depose before PAC. Opposition members objected to this, saying Joshi should not have proceeded with the probe when they are all pursuing the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to investigate the second generation mobile telephony spectrum allocation scam.

At an NDA meeting, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav also referred to the embarrassment Joshi’s enthusiasm on a PAC probe was causing.

“The opposition would be doing irreversible and immeasurable damage to parliamentary democracy if it continues with its no-JPC-no-house approach through the winter session,” Bansal said, ruling out constituting a JPC under pressure.

Quoting from parliamentary records, he said previous Congress governments had accepted JPC demands almost in no time. “JPC on Bofors was accepted in a day in 1987, and in 1992, JPC on Harshad Mehta scam was agreed on within a few days,” he said.

“But we have considered this demand at great length, and based on our experience we have come to the conclusion that a JPC can do nothing that is not being done at present to probe the second generation mobile telephony spectrum allocation scam. The only difference is that a JPC gives the opposition a political handle to have a go at the government,” Bansal argued.