Notwithstanding strident Opposition attack on Telecom Minister A Raja over 2-G spectrum allocation, government on Thursday dropped enough hints that no action against him was likely soon even as his party DMK strongly stood behind him.
Notwithstanding strident Opposition attack on Telecom Minister A Raja over 2-G spectrum allocation, government on Thursday dropped enough hints that no action against him was likely soon even as his party DMK strongly stood behind him.
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In an apparent effort to forestall any action against Raja, DMK leader and party chief M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi met Finance Minister and Congress trouble-shooter Pranab Mukherjee here and is understood to have told him that he should not be removed from the Union Cabinet.
While Parliament was paralysed for the second consecutive day over alleged corruption in 2-G allocation and charges against Raja, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal dismissed demands for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations and said any action could take place after Parliament discusses the CAG report.
"The CAG has already given its report. The PAC, which is a mini JPC, will go into the issue and report to Parliament. It will again be debated. Why there is a demand for JPC? It is un-understandable," Chidambaram told reporters outside Parliament House.
Echoing similar views, Bansal said "Corruption is a serious issue...CAG (report) is yet to be finalised. Now the matter would rest with the Public Accounts Committee. The PAC has to look into it." He told reporters that after the PAC presents its report to Parliament, "it is the right of Parliament to go for a structured discussion. That is what Parliament is meant for."
He said while Raja has been "indicted by one organisation (CAG), that is not the end of the matter...the matter is before the Supreme Court...we should not make a final decision on anything only after listening to one point and then inflate the issue. "We then consider it to be our right to take a decision. We should reach to the bottom of the matter." The Union minister said anybody found guilty should be punished.
Meanwhile, DMK strongly stood behind Raja saying there was no reason for his removal from the Union Cabinet. "Why should he (Raja) resign," asked DMK spokesperson and Lok Sabha MP TKS Elangovan and added that a CBI probe into the spectrum scam is on and everyone should wait for it to end.
"Whatever the minister did was based on the norms set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Let the CBI inquiry into the issue end first," he said. "No way," asserted a senior DMK leader when asked whether Raja will go in wake of allegations against him.
Taking a swipe at BJP, Bansal said that by demanding a JPC probe, the party was demonstrating lack of confidence in its leader Murli Manohar Joshi who heads the PAC. "The PAC is headed by a leader of the opposition party. The BJP has no confidence in MM Joshi (who heads the PAC) as it is demanding a JPC probe (into 2-G spectrum allocation)," he said.
Bansal suggested that PAC was as powerful as JPC to handle the issue. "Moreover, the JPC would be headed by a member of the ruling party (Congress)...instead of demanding a JPC, the Opposition should demand that the process of CAG report being looked by PAC is fast-tracked," he said. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said Raja should resign on moral grounds.
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