Notwithstanding former Telecom Minister A Raja’s desperate efforts to appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee probing 2G scam, panel Chairman P C Chacko is in no mood to oblige him. Chacko on Thursday reiterated that Raja should give his written submissions which will be put on record.
Chacko said that two days back he had conveyed to Raja that his request could not be granted. If Raja is allowed to appear then other former Telecom Ministers between 1998 and 2008 will also have to be called before the panel and there was not much time left as he has already started writing the draft report which will be submitted to Parliament in first week of May, Chacko said.
Raja has misunderstood the situation as the JPC’s terms of reference was not confined to just 122 licences allotted by him but entire gamut of issues, Chacko said. Raja has not rejected the offer of sending written submissions to JPC, he pointed out.
Chacko said that in response to BJP leaders Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh’s letters in this regard, he has already met them to explain that it was not possible to allow Raja as a witness as the draft report is already being made. But he parried questions about whether BJP members were satisfied with his explanation.
Regarding CPI member Gurudas Dasgupta’s letter that Cabinet Secretary was tutoring witnesses appearing before JPC, Chacko said that it is a general practice that Cabinet Secretary or Chief Secretary prepares the government officials about the stand to be taken on any issue but being in the Opposition for long the CPI leader doesn’t understand the Government’s functioning.