Joshi may place draft 2G report on PAC table again

In a move that may spark off another standoff between Congress and BJP members in the Public Accounts Committee,chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi

In a move that may spark off another standoff between Congress and BJP members in the Public Accounts Committee,chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi has written to members indicating that the controversial report on the 2G spectrum allocation scam which put the two sides at loggerheads in April last,will be put up for consideration before the committee once again.

In a letter to PAC members last week,Joshi also rejected the demand by Congress members that Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai withdraw himself from hearings where former DG Pamp;T Audit R P Singh will be deposing. The CAG or his representative shall continue to be present whenever a witness is called to depose so that his expert opinion and independent advice is instantly available to the committee to facilitate cross-examination of the witness, Joshi wrote in his ruling.

The Congress members had contended that RP Singh,who had differed with the findings of the CAG on a presumptive loss of Rs 1.7 lakh crore in the 2G scam,would not be able to fearlessly speak his mind in the presence of the CAG.

I see no valid ground why a retired DG should feel intimidated by the presence of the CAG. I am therefore of the considered view that any departure from a well-established convention would undermine faith in the institution of CAG and set a dangerous precedent, Joshi maintained. The practice and procedure of Parliament,he pointed out,mandated the presence of the CAG in all PAC meetings.

Joshi,who recently carried his complaint to Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee that members belonging to the Congress were not according him due respect,indicated that he would be putting up the draft 2G report for consideration once again. He said he was doing this on the basis of the ruling of Speaker Meira Kumar that the report was still a draft one since it had not been considered by the committee paragraph by paragraph.

After the ruling of the honble Speaker conveyed vide her letter dated 10th June 2011,the draft report on 2G and 3G spectrum allocation already stands circulated to the honble members for their information and consideration in consonance with the rules and the practice and procedures of the PAC, Joshi said.

In a third decision,the PAC chairperson also said that allegations against the CAG could not be entertained from any member. He said that the CAG not only occupied a high post in the status of a Judge of the Supreme court but also cited a previous ruling by the Lok Sabha Speaker in support of his contention.