Opposition parties have termed the JPC draft report on spectrum allocations “politically motivated.”
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and its supporters, which are a minority in the panel, will now have to depend on the “casting vote” of chairman P. C. Chacko to get the report passed.
The Opposition is unhappy with the “severe criticism” of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the “complete neglect” of the pricing issue, the Finance Ministry’s controversial note on the role of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, former Finance Secretary D. Subbarao’s letter suggesting auction of the spectrum, and the “clean chit” to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister.
By choosing to name two DMK ministers — Dayanidhi Maran and A. Raja — the report further alienates Congress’s erstwhile ally from Tamil Nadu. They are the only two politicians whom the report criticises.
The Congress is adopting a wait-and-watch approach.
Chacko urged the Opposition parties to read the report with a clear mind. He said the report has to be viewed based on its merit not with a political mind. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said the report could be debated only when it is tabled in Parliament. It is now almost certain that the Opposition will demand deletion of certain paragraphs, rather than moving dissent notes. “Such a criticism of the CAG in a Parliamentary report is unheard of,” a senior BJP leader said. “We had extensively discussed the Finance Ministry’s note and Subbarao’s letter. What view has the committee taken on it?” the JPC member added.
Criticising the draft JPC draft report, Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said it will meet the same fate as the Bofors JPC.
Chacko’s casting vote now seems the only way for the Congress to save the report. “The chairman of a panel can cast two votes. One, with other members, and the other to end the impasse in case of a tie,” said former Lok Sabha Secretary-General P. D. T. Achary.