Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

PM �ready� to appear before PAC on 2G scam

By The Assam Tribune

NEW DELHI, Dec 20 � Seeking to counter the Opposition clamour for Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into 2G scam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today made an unprecedented offer of appearing before the Parliament�s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), saying he has �nothing to hide�, reports PTI.

�As Prime Minister of this great country for the last six-and-a-half years, I may have made mistakes but I have tried to serve my country to the best of my ability.

�I sincerely believe that like Caesar�s wife, the Prime Minister should be above suspicion and it is for this reason that I am prepared to appear before the PAC even though there is no precedent to that effect,� Singh said addressing the Congress Plenary here on the concluding day of the two-day conclave.

Noting that the PAC is headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, he said it has �all the powers which can be given to a JPC and the PAC is the acknowledged watchdog of any financial impropriety or misconduct�.

Rejecting the Opposition demand for a JPC probe which led to a washout of the entire Winter session of Parliament, Singh said �government is of the considered view that in the background of the multi-faceted action now in place, no purpose will be served by a JPC, except to delay the inquiry and politicise the matter�.

�I wish to state categorically that I have nothing to hide from the public at large and as a proof of my bonafides I intend to write to the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee that I shall be happy to appear before the PAC, if it chooses to ask me to do so,� Singh said in his 30-minute address amid applause from over 15,000 delegates.

In his first major response to the 2G spectrum controversy and Parliament paralysis, the Prime Minister attacked the BJP, saying it has been �falsely propagating� that the UPA government is against the JPC because �we do not want the Prime Minister to be questioned by a Parliamentary committee�.

Promising that nobody found guilty in 2G allocation as well as CWG irregularities would be spared, he said the government was conducting a thorough probe in all aspects of the organisation of Commonwealth Games and the 2G spectrum allocation.

�These inquiries will be pursued vigorously and it is my promise to you that no guilty person will be spared � whether he is a political leader or a government official, wAhichever party he may belong to and howsoever powerful he may be,� he said.

�We wanted to discuss all these issues in Parliament but one entire session got wasted because of Opposition�s obduracy. It is difficult to comprehend that only a JPC should probe the 2G spectrum matter,� he said.

In his speech, the Prime Minister dwelt on a number of issues ranging from Naxalism to the National Food Security Act, India�s ties with various countries including Pakistan, terrorism, economy and agriculture as also on the party organisation.

He noted that the Plenary session was taking place at a time when �various charges are being levelled against our party and our government. Our objectives and principles are being suspected.Our record is being questioned for partisan political ends. It is being alleged that we are not sufficiently sensitive to the issue of corruption�.

Attacking the BJP for not sacking BS Yeddyurappa, he said, �We are not like some Opposition parties which insist on retaining the tainted Chief Minister despite scandal after scandal.

Yeddyurappa is facing allegations of corruption in land scams.

�Our approach to corruption also gets clearly reflected in our actions. Whether at the Centre or in the States, we have asked our Ministers and Chief Ministers to step down merely on the basis of suspicion because we practise and believe in principled politics,� Singh said, apparently referring to the resignation of A Raja as Telecom Minister in the wake of the 2G scam and the resignation of Ashok Chavan as Maharashtra Chief Minister on the Adarsh scam.

Next Story