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Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has rejected the Opposition’s demand of removing P.C. Chacko as Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on spectrum allocations.
The Speaker, apparently, did not also consider the demand of the Congress members that BJP leaders Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad should not sit in the panel while the draft report was taken up for discussion and adoption.
She put the issue back to the “wisdom” of the JPC members and asked them to “sink their differences” and present a report, as mandated by Parliament.
The Speaker’s letter has not gone down well with the Opposition and the Congress. “Only God can help us sink our differences,” said a member, adding that under the present circumstances, it was impossible to hold a JPC meeting.
A source in the panel indicated that the only option before Chacko was to seek another extension for the panel, which is supposed to submit its report on or before the last day of the ongoing Budget session (May 10).
A meeting of the panel is not likely to take place during the session as 15 members of the 30-member panel have made it clear that they were rejecting the draft report.
The Samajwadi Party had said that the process of the JPC would not be complete unless it summoned the former Telecom Minister A. Raja and recorded his views. So, it will be tough for the Congress to ensure passage of the report in the panel.
The Speaker said in her letter that the faith reposed by Parliament was being betrayed by members trading allegations against each other. “It is, therefore, necessary for the Chairman and the members to sink their differences and present a report as mandated by Parliament,” she said, adding that due to the absence of express provisions in the rules, it would be difficult to remove the chairman of any Parliamentary committee.
On the demand of removing senior BJP leaders, she said membership of former Ministers in a panel would not constitute any personal, pecuniary or direct interest unless such members had some other personal, pecuniary or direct interest.
“Hence, these members are not barred from taking part in the proceedings of the Committee,” she said in the letter.
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