'I am not afraid of appearing before JPC' : PM

He also dismissed impression that he was blocking agreement on the issue between the government and the opposition as he did not want to appear before a JPC.

"I am not afraid to appear before it. I am not afraid of appearing before any committee... I am not afraid of appearing before any Parliamentary Commmitee including JPC," " Singh told editors of the electronic media here.

Asked about impressions that he was blocking the constitution of a JPC probe because he did not want to appear before it, Singh said, "I have always said that as Prime Minister, my conduct must be like Ceasar's wife above suspicion and I am quite prepared to appear before any committee that may go into this." "This is entirely wrong impression that I was the one who was blocking the agreement about JPC beacuse I did not want to appear before it."

The remarks come a week after the all party meeting chaired by UPA's trouble shooter Pranab Mukherjee on February 8 in which broad indications emerged on the possibility of formation of a JPC to look into the 2G spectrum allocation scam. The winter session of Parliament was a complete washout with the opposition insisting on a JPC and the government unwilling to relent.

The Prime Minister also referred to his earlier remarks made during the Congress Plenary in December last year in which he had offered to appear before the PAC if required.
"The PAC is the giant committee presided over by a very senior leader of the opposition and I have publicly declared my willingness to appear before it,"  Singh said.

Singh expressed confidence that the next session will be "orderly" and the government will also be able to put before Parliament important legislations apart from the budget.
"We are making honest efforts to ensure that," he said adding "talks are going on with opposition parties". Noting that he has "not been able to understand" reasons for which Parliament was not allowed to function in the winter session, he said that it should be allowed to transact its business despite differences between the government and the opposition.