JPC to probe telecom policy from 98

Shortly after the Lok Sabha adopted the motion moved by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to appoint the JPC,there were discordant notes in the ruling camp over the BJPs nominees Jaswant Singh,Yashwant Sinha,Gopinath Munde and Harin Pathak.

Jaswant Singh had headed the GoM on telecom policies in 2003 and Yashwant Sinha was also a member of this GoM. How can they sit in judgement on policy decisions taken by themselves? Besides,Gopinath Munde is brother-in-law of former telecom minister,the late Pramod Mahajan, a Congress member in the committee told The Indian Express. Given the fact that the JPC covers policies from 1998 to 2009,doesnt it constitute conflict of interest? We are going to raise this issue at the first meeting.

The BJP termed the argument as absolutely incorrect. What have members of a GoM got to do with conflict of interest? By that logic,every member would become ineligible if he were part of a Cabinet decision. Congress,it seems,is nervous about the the BJP fielding heavyweights as against their lightweights, said a top BJP leader.

By that logic,A Raja could also be included as a member of the JPC, countered another Congress leader.

While the Opposition nominated senior leaders,the Congress panel is a blend of youth and experience. Its members include Kishore C Deo,Paban Ghatowar,J P Agarwal,Deepender Hooda,P C Chacko,Manish Tewari,Nirmal Khatri and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Moving the motionin the Lok Sabha,Mukherjee expressed regret at the loss of an entire session on the issue.

I might have failed to assess the sentiments of the members of the House, he said,adding that the government would be accomodative and travel the extra mile to ensure that these unfortunate events do not recur.