We demand JPC probe despite PM's offer: BJP

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday insisted on a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum scam even after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and conveyed his willingness to appear before the panel.

"We believe the government should announce a JPC (probe), there should be no excuse for it," BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters.

"Unless there is a JPC, there can't be a conclusion. If the prime minister is clear, why is the government shying away from a JPC," he said.

The Prime Minister earlier in the day wrote to senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi and conveyed his willingness to appear before the PAC which he heads in connection with the 2G scandal.

Hitting back at the BJP, the Congress said that the PAC was chaired by BJP leader Joshi and the rival party should demand a JPC only if it didn't believe in his abilities.

"Today, the prime minister said he will depose before the PAC...If the BJP doesn't believe in the abilities of Mr. Joshi and the PAC, we can't help," Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said.