Rejecting JPC chairman P C Chackos argument that only the majority of committee members will decide who to call as witnesses before the panel for probe into 2G spectrum allocation,the BJP on Monday stuck to its demand for calling the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister as witnesses. The party told Chacko to review his position. I shall continue to believe that good sense shall prevail and you will agree to our request. The Parliament and especially a parliamentary committee cannot encourage corruption on the basis of majority, said senior BJP leader and JPC member Yashwant Sinha in a reply to Chacko. The JPC chief had written to Sinha pointing out Rule 261 from the Rules of Procedure of Conduct of Business of the Lok Sabha to argue that the calling of witnesses is dependent on a majority of votes of the members. Rejecting his contention,Sinha also faulted Chacko for assuming that the majority was against calling the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister without putting BJP members demand to vote in the first place. You have so far not prepared a final list of witnesses, Sinha said adding,You have never put my suggestion to vote in the committee. Therefore,to allude that the members of the committee are against my suggestion is not based on facts. The BJP on Monday also raised the issue of revelations by former cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar wherein he had suggested that he had advised a relatively higher licence fee for the 2G spectrum while favouring auction. BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman asserted that the PM should face the JPC to explain the questions arising out of the former cabinet secretarys revelations.
