Congress has made PAC a joke: BJP

New Delhi, Apr 29 (ANI): Asserting that only a member of the Opposition party can be the chief of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday charged the ruling Congress Party of making a joke of the committee probing the 2G spectrum scam.

"They made a joke of it. PAC is a committee of the Lok Sabha, only a Lok Sabha member and a member of main opposition party can be its head. Soz, a member of the Rajya Sabha, from the ruling party, was elected the chairman," said BJP leader Yashwant Sinha.

"In other committees, we give a chance to other members to ask questions first, but in the PAC, it's clearly written that the chairman puts the questions in the first instance. Thereafter opportunity is given to other members. Those who object (asking) why Joshi asked the question first have not studied the rules," he added.

In the backdrop of the leak of the PAC draft report to the media, eleven of the 21 members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), including SP and BSP members, submitted signed voting slips rejecting the report prepared by the committee's chairman Murli Manohar Joshi.

These members also accused Joshi of outsourcing the report and went on to elect Congress leader Saifuddin Soz from among themselves after Joshi walked out of yesterday's meeting.

The PAC in its report on Wednesday indicted former Telecom Minister A. Raja for misleading the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in 2008.

According to the PAC report, the PMO could have intervened faster in objections presented on A Raja's 'First Come First Serve Policy'.

The draft also says that Raja misled Dr. Manmohan Singh to fulfill his 'nefarious designs' leading to a staggering loss of revenue.

The draft further adds that the Prime Minister was aware of the advice given by the Law Ministry, which was contrary to the view of the Telecom Ministry.

The report is also critical of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who was the Finance Minister then.

According to the PAC report: "We are shocked and dismayed that instead of initiating stringent action against all those responsible for the loss, the Finance Minister in his note asked the Prime Minister to close the matter." (ANI)