Does the 2G spectrum allocation scam, arguably the biggest corruption scandal estimated at Rs 1.76 lakh crore, merit a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe or should a public account committee (PAC) suffice? The debate continued today, as prime minister Manmohan Singh said he would be “happy” to appear before parliament’s PAC, but the BJP and the Left rejected the offer.

Addressing the Congress Plenary on the concluding day of the two-day conclave, the PM adopted an unusually aggressive stance and accused the opposition of "obduracy" over the demand for a JPC probe, saying it would serve no purpose. Manmohan Singh said the PAC, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, had all the powers that could be given to a JPC.

The 2G spectrum allocation has given the opposition a stick to beat the government. The opposition parties joined hands during the winter session of parliament, concluded earlier this month, and stalled proceedings on the demand for a JPC.

Manmohan Singh's attack on the opposition, especially the BJP, came a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi's address at the conclave in which she had given a five-point action plan for the government and the party in the battle against corruption. The government will pay careful attention to the five-point agenda to fight corruption set out by Gandhi, the PM said.

Contending that the opposition was "falsely propagating" that the government was shying away from JPC to prevent the prime minister from appearing before it, Manmohan Singh said he had "nothing to hide from the public". He said he would be "happy to appear" before the PAC though there was no precedent and he intended to write to the PAC chairman in this regard.

Noting that multi-disciplinary investigations are underway into the spectrum allocation issue, he asserted no guilty person would be spared in the 2G spectrum or CWG scams. All aspects of 2G spectrum allocation were being probed and the Supreme Court is monitoring the CBI investigation in the matter, he said.

BJP, Left attack PM for rejecting JPC on 2G scam

The BJP and the Left parties, however, criticised Manmohan Singh for rejecting a JPC probe, maintaining only a JPC can go into the "depth" of the multi-crore scandal.

Commenting on Manmohan Singh's offer to appear before PAC, which is currently looking into the issue, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said, "JPC is not an unconstitutional demand by the opposition. The PM's willingness to appear before the PAC will only serve a very limited mandate.

"When he is ready to come and answer any question before the PAC, why not JPC? JPC is not something unconstitutional. It is a parliamentary practice and a provision," he said.

Javdekar alleged that the prime minister is making a distinction between PAC and JPC because he "knows very well that the mandate of the PAC will be limited.

"The prime minister definitely is guilty of not supervising and not checking corruption when they were happening," he said.

Meanwhile, CPI national secretary D Raja questioned the Congress party and the prime minister for making JPC as "such a contentious issue."

Noting that JPC is a mechanism, which consists of members from both the opposition and ruling parties, Raja said, "JPC would be better mechanism to go into the depth" of the second generation mobile telephony spectrum allocation scam".

Alleging that the government "abused" all the telecom policies in order to favour a few companies, Raja said a JPC can suggest what should be the amendment to the existing policies so that such scams never occur.

Singh, addressing the Congress plenary, said he would be "happy" to appear before PAC in the 2G spectrum issue as he has nothing to hide.

He also accused the opposition of "obduracy" over the demand for JPC probe into the issue, saying it would serve no purpose.

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PM ready to appear before PAC in 2G issue

Taking the battle into the Opposition camp, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he would be "happy" to appear before the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee in the 2G spectrum issue as he has nothing to hide.

Adopting an unusually aggressive stance, he accused the Opposition of "obduracy" over the demand for Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into 2G issue, saying it would serve no purpose. Addressing the Congress Plenary on the concluding day of the two-day conclave, he said the PAC, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, has all the powers which can be given to a JPC. The entire Opposition stalled proceedings in the Winter Session of Parliament on the demand for JPC into the 2G spectrum scam that resulted in a washout of the session.

Singh's attack on the Opposition, especially the BJP, comes a day after Congress President Sonia Gandhi's address at the conclave in which she had given a five-point action plan for the government and Congress party in the battle against corruption. Government will pay careful attention to the five-point agenda to fight corruption set out by Gandhi, he said.

Contending that the Opposition was "falsely propagating" that government was shying away from JPC to prevent the Prime Minister from appearing before it, Singh said he has "nothing to hide from the public". He said he would be "happy to appear" before the PAC though there was no precedent and he intended to write to the PAC chairman in this regard. Noting that multi-disciplinary investigations are underway into the spectrum allocation issue, Singh asserted no guilty person would be spared in 2G spectrum or CWG scams. All aspects of 2G spectrum allocation are being probed and the Supreme Court is monitoring the CBI investigation in the matter, the Prime Minister said.