2G scam: Govt firm on no to JPC

Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday ruled out any possibility of constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G Spectrum scam.

He, however, appealed the Opposition to come forward for a debate on the issue on the floor of the House.

?I have requested the Opposition to come back to the House and let the whole issue be debated in Parliament. Let them say whatever they want to say on the floor of the house and the government will respond,? he told reporters here.

Terming the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) a ?permanent JPC?, Mukherjee said, ?As soon as the CAG report (on the 2G scam) came, the matter was referred to PAC. It is a permanent JPC having members from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Therefore, PAC itself is the JPC. I don?t understand why the JPC should be there.?

He added that it is the constitutional responsibility of the PAC to examine the CAG report.

The Opposition parties have stalled proceedings in both Houses of the Parliament for the entire Winter Session so far, demanding a JPC into the 2G Spectrum scam, while the government remained in an unrelenting mood.

All-party meetings convened by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the government have so far failed to end the deadlock.