BJP dismisses Centre's one-man panel proposal

Senior BJP leader and Chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Murli Manohar Joshi said Sibal’s announcement of a one-man committee probe outside Parliament could invite privilege motion against the telecom minister. He said the general practice was not to make a policy announcement outside Parliament when the House was in session.

Joshi said the manner of announcement “is highly objectionable and may invite privilege (motion)”. According to the BJP, Sibal’s proposal, for probe by a one-man committee of retired Supreme Court judge Shivraj Vir Patil, was eyewash and a move to cover-up facts.

“We wholly reject the suggestion. It is not even a commission of inquiry. This is only an executive-appointed committee. On all these grounds, we reject the suggestion of a committee of a retired judge looking into the issue,”  said Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley.

Jaitley said a one-member committee cannot probe the fraudulent implementation of telecom policies and allegations of corruption.