The JPC task on 2G scam" report circulated in April says then Telecom Minister A Raja "misled" the Prime Minister in 2008 and manipulated a first-come-first-serve policy to push ineligible companies to the top of a long line of applicants for mobile network licences and second-generation or 2G airwaves.
BJP leaders Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh, Gopinath Munde, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Harin Pathak addressed a press conference to release the dissent note that accuses Chacko of heading a Congress operation to debunk the CAG’s Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss report.
They said former CAG Vinod Rai was treated in a most shabby manner, with Congress members of the JPC interrogating him in a rude and offencive manner. Rai was made to sit in the witness box despite being a constitutional authority instead of being given a seat next to the chairperson. Key political witnesses like DMK leaders A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran were not called and neither were senior officials of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Addressing a press briefing in the national capital, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha confirmed the development by saying, "We have given a dissent report against the JPC, which gave PM a clean chit."
Sinha further alleged that the JPC report on 2G scam is a "cover-up" by the Centre to protect the Prime Minister and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
"The manner in which the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G spectrum scam handled the report, MPs in future will dread asking for a JPC probe," the BJP leader said.
Accusing Chacko of violating rules as JPC chairman on 2G draft report, the veteran BJP leader said, "After February, we did not have a JPC meeting for 7 months."
Battle lines have been drawn for the meeting as BJP and Left members were all set to oppose the draft report by either giving strong notes of dissent or even demanding a vote. The Committee has 12 members of the ruling UPA --Congress (11) and NCP (1). Among its outside allies, SP has one member and BSP two and one Nominated member from the Rajya Sabha.
The Opposition camp has BJP (6), BJD (1), TMC (1), CPI (1), CPI-M (1), DMK (1) and AIADMK (1).JD(U) (2) . JD(U) has recently split with BJP, it has two members and the party's stand was crucial.
Congress leader PC Chacko, who chairs the 30-member panel, said that the report was adopted by a majority with 16 votes in favour as against 11 who opposed it. JD(U) switched their loyalty and joined hands with Congress and allowed P C Chacko to engineer JPC cover-up of the 2G scam.
Besides this, the Left and the Biju Janata Dal have already submitted dissent notes against the controversial draft report, which gives a clean chit to the Prime Minister and P Chidambaram.