'Ministers manipulated UPA members on 2G report'

LUCKNOW, INDIA: Senior BJP leader and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chief Murli Manohar Joshi on Tuesday accused four union ministers, including Kapil Sibal and P. Chidambaram, of influencing United Progressive Alliance members to oppose the panel's report on the 2G spectrum scam.

Sibal (human resource development), Chidambaram (home), P.K. Bansal (parliamentary affairs) and V. Narayanasamy (Prime Minister's Office) had "given directions to the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders on what do on the PAC report", Joshi told reporters at a press conference.

"If union ministers are involved in such types of acts, it's really surprising and shocking... It shows their disregard for a parliamentary committee," he added.

As PAC chief, he said, he would continue to track the money spent from the government's exchequer.

"It's our prime job and we will make every effort to ensure whether the money was spent on the projects for which it was earmarked," said Joshi.

He asked the SP and the BSP to clarify their stand on dealing with corruption in the country.

"The country wants to know from them (SP and BSP) whether they are with a party that fights against corruption, or with one involved in it," said Joshi.

He said the PAC had also made recommendations in order to bring transparency in the functioning of the country's premier investigating agency, CBI.

"It has been recommended that CBI should report to parliament after every six months… It should tell how many cases were filed, status of its investigations, the number of people against whom action was taken and other such things," said Joshi.

Joshi's draft report on the allocation of 2G spectrum indicted former communications minister A. Raja and indirectly criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, among others, for mishandling the spectrum allocation, causing losses amounting to thousands of crores of rupees to the national exchequer.

The report was blocked by 11 of the 21 members of the PAC belonging to the ruling UPA constituents and supporting parties. Joshi has been reappointed chief of the parliamentary panel for another year.

Hitting out at the BSP government over the farmers-police clash in Greater Noida, he said farmers' rights should always be taken into account before any government undertakes a developmental projects.

"Farmers should not be denied their rights for providing profits to some industrialists," said Joshi.