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The DMK’s decision to pull out from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has emboldened the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to claim a steering role in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on spectrum allocations.
With the DMK deciding to oppose the Government, the UPA and its supporters have lost majority in the panel. Now, both the UPA and its Opposition have 15 members each in the panel.
The panel was supposed to start drafting its report towards the end of March. Chairman P.C. Chacko had claimed that the panel would submit the report in May, when Parliament meets for the second lap of the Budget session.
The new developments, including the letter by BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are likely to further delay the submission of the report.
The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party together have 15 members in the panel. The Congress is not in favour of summoning any politician, fearing that it may open Pandora’s Box. The party had cold-shouldered DMK’s demand to summon former Telecom Minister A. Raja.
All other parties, except Congress and its supporters, are backing this demand. The DMK has two and the Trinamool Congress has one member in the panel. Chacko will now find it difficult to push the Congress’s stand on summoning politicians within the panel.
DMK pressure
The DMK has also stepped up pressure on the panel. “Raja has offered to appear before it. He should be given an opportunity to present his views. The meeting of the JPC should be convened at the earliest. The Chairman cannot take decisions unilaterally,” JPC member and DMK leader in Rajya Sabha, Tiruchi Siva, told Business Line . Siva had written to Chacko supporting Raja’s demand to be heard.
Sinha urged the Prime Minister to appear before the panel to clear his name. “You may also suggest the Finance Minister to make a similar offer,” Sinha said in the letter. The Opposition members cite that the Prime Minister had said in an interaction with editors of electronic media that he was not afraid of appearing before any committee on the issue.
Chacko, however, downplayed Sinha’s letter as a political stunt.
“It is just a political stunt. He does not have the backing of any Parliamentary Rules or proceedings to write such a letter. Tomorrow, he may even call a meeting of the JPC. The BJP is worried that the evidences before us do not support their views on the issue,” Chacko said.
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