<p>The second meeting of the JPC, chaired by Congress leader P C Chacko, literally turned into a classroom as members were briefed by officials of the Department of Telecom on issues like what is spectrum and how are signals amplified for use in telephony.<br /><br />"It was back to school," a young member of Parliament quipped after the first session on the technical and scientific dimension of the concept of radio frequency spectrum and its allocation.<br /><br />A veteran Rajya Sabha MP also spoke in similar vein when asked about the meeting of the JPC.<br /><br />The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere as matters related to the continuance of BJP members Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh -- the then Union Cabinet ministers who were part of decision-making in telecom sector between 1998-2008.<br /><br />"This matter has already been settled by the Speaker in her letter to the JPC," a member said.<br /><br />The JPC was set up through a Parliamentary resolution after a persistent demand by the Opposition for a thorough probe into the 2G spectrum scam which is believed to have caused a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.<br /><br />The constitution of the JPC also saw a brief turf war between Chacko and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who heads the Public Accounts Committee, which also examined the 2G spectrum allocation.<br /><br />Chacko and Joshi took their battle to the office of Speaker Meira Kumar, who asked both the Committees to work in close cooperation and harmony with each other. <br /><br /></p>
<p>The second meeting of the JPC, chaired by Congress leader P C Chacko, literally turned into a classroom as members were briefed by officials of the Department of Telecom on issues like what is spectrum and how are signals amplified for use in telephony.<br /><br />"It was back to school," a young member of Parliament quipped after the first session on the technical and scientific dimension of the concept of radio frequency spectrum and its allocation.<br /><br />A veteran Rajya Sabha MP also spoke in similar vein when asked about the meeting of the JPC.<br /><br />The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere as matters related to the continuance of BJP members Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh -- the then Union Cabinet ministers who were part of decision-making in telecom sector between 1998-2008.<br /><br />"This matter has already been settled by the Speaker in her letter to the JPC," a member said.<br /><br />The JPC was set up through a Parliamentary resolution after a persistent demand by the Opposition for a thorough probe into the 2G spectrum scam which is believed to have caused a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.<br /><br />The constitution of the JPC also saw a brief turf war between Chacko and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who heads the Public Accounts Committee, which also examined the 2G spectrum allocation.<br /><br />Chacko and Joshi took their battle to the office of Speaker Meira Kumar, who asked both the Committees to work in close cooperation and harmony with each other. <br /><br /></p>