<p>The Chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU), V Kishore Chandra Deo, said in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar that despite categorical instructions, Goyal did not attend the meeting, sources said.<br /><br />"This tantamounted to gross impropriety on his part," the letter said, adding that the meeting had to be adjourned "on a note that the displeasure of the committee may be conveyed to the CMD, BSNL".<br /><br />COPU, one of the three key financial committees of the Lok Sabha, asked the Speaker to taken up the matter "with the concerned authorities for appropriate action against Goyal".<br /><br />The BSNL chief had sought exemption from appearing before the COPU on July 7, just a day before the meeting was to take place, sources said, adding that even the written replies from the company were received barely a day before the meeting.<br /><br />This was the second time that Goyal had sought exemption from attending the meetings of the committee, they said.<br /><br />"The committee unanimously took strong objection to both the late furnishing of written replies as well as non-appearance of CMD, BSNL, despite the chairman's categorical instructions to him," the letter noted.<br /><br />It said there was a tendency on the part of the Secretary or PSU chiefs to avoid appearance before parliamentary committees on "one pretext or the other".<br />It urged the Speaker to issue "necessary directions to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs for taking corrective measures to maintain the supremacy and dignity of Parliament as an institution."<br /><br />BSNL, which was earning more than Rs 10,000 crore profit a few years ago, could barely manage to post a profit of Rs 575 crore last year. It is likely that the company may slip into losses this year, as it could not withstand competition from private telecom operators.<br /></p>
<p>The Chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU), V Kishore Chandra Deo, said in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar that despite categorical instructions, Goyal did not attend the meeting, sources said.<br /><br />"This tantamounted to gross impropriety on his part," the letter said, adding that the meeting had to be adjourned "on a note that the displeasure of the committee may be conveyed to the CMD, BSNL".<br /><br />COPU, one of the three key financial committees of the Lok Sabha, asked the Speaker to taken up the matter "with the concerned authorities for appropriate action against Goyal".<br /><br />The BSNL chief had sought exemption from appearing before the COPU on July 7, just a day before the meeting was to take place, sources said, adding that even the written replies from the company were received barely a day before the meeting.<br /><br />This was the second time that Goyal had sought exemption from attending the meetings of the committee, they said.<br /><br />"The committee unanimously took strong objection to both the late furnishing of written replies as well as non-appearance of CMD, BSNL, despite the chairman's categorical instructions to him," the letter noted.<br /><br />It said there was a tendency on the part of the Secretary or PSU chiefs to avoid appearance before parliamentary committees on "one pretext or the other".<br />It urged the Speaker to issue "necessary directions to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs for taking corrective measures to maintain the supremacy and dignity of Parliament as an institution."<br /><br />BSNL, which was earning more than Rs 10,000 crore profit a few years ago, could barely manage to post a profit of Rs 575 crore last year. It is likely that the company may slip into losses this year, as it could not withstand competition from private telecom operators.<br /></p>