The joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the 2G spectrum scam has done an outstanding job. It has absolved Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of all the charges without even once talking to him. And it has put the entire blame on the then telecom minister A Raja, without talking to him either. At least that’s what Raja has alleged. If anything, the JPC has blamed the erstwhile Vajpayee government while going extra soft on the current regime.

The JPC chairman, Congressman PC Chacko, wants us to believe that Raja and some bureaucrats and businessmen were making hay while the prime minister’s office and the finance ministry were oblivious to what was happening.

Read attached file at end: full text of A Raja’s letter to PC Chacko and documents he submitted to the JPC to prove that he “took no unilateral decision

On April 22, however, Raja attacked the JPC for not allowing him – the main accused –  to depose before it. “This is not the way the JPC is expected to function,” said Raja. “Even without waiting for my statement JPC prepared a draft report and also leaked it to the media,” he alleged. Raja said he was not provided with a copy of the deposition of solicitor general of India. “I always had concerns about the credibility of JPC,” he added.   

Meanwhile, the DMK has sought the removal of Chacko as chairman of the JPC alleging that he had leaked the panel’s draft report to the media. DMK leader TR Baalu said he had given a notice of breach of parliamentary privilege against Chacko over the leakage of the JPC draft report. “We have given privilege notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar against the leakage of JPC draft report by the JPC chairman,” Baalu, a Lok Sabha member from Sriperumbudur, told reporters.

In a 112-page letter written to the JPC, Raja has clarified that he personally met PM several times between November 2007 and July 2008 (the period when the scam took place) to keep him informed of all 2G-related decisions. He has also emphasised that the prime minister agreed with him on most decisions.

While challenging the JPC’s draft report and the CBI’s allegations that Raja had “misled” the PM, the former telecom minister has written: “This allegation has been made by the CBI without even recording the statement of the Hon’ble PM. On what basis do they say he was misled? I hope the JPC will not commit the same blunder; if they wish to draw any conclusion on this issue, it is mandatory to record my statement and the statement of the Hon’ble PM.”

Raja has also given details of his meetings, letters and conversations with the prime minister, several of which are not in the public domain.

Citing several interactions he had with the prime minister and the law minister, Raja writes: “If either of them had desired that the eGoM should consider this matter, they would have told me and I would have acted accordingly. However, neither of them ever made this suggestion, and rather they fully understood and endorsed my course of action.”

With parliament meeting after a long recess, it is on the cards that the opposition would make a big hue and cry over the JPC draft’s leak and the way the prime minister and the finance minister have been absolved of all the charges. However, floor management has always been the UPA’s forte. And this time, it is going to be pretty easy as well.

The Congress itself has 12 members in the JPC’s total of 30 members. It would need another four to get a majority. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have a representative each in the JPC. Even if we do not believe the allegation that the Congress uses CBI to arm-twist them into supporting the government, the two rivals have never failed the Congress. Both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati have disproportionate assets cases pending against them. Then there is strong hope from the Janata Dal (United). After the Cabinet decision to grant Bihar special economic status which would entitle it to get a whopping Rs 12,000 crore from the Centre for relieving poverty, an understanding can never be ruled out. So math-wise, there is not much of problem here.