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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | NK Singh leaves telecom probe panel

NK Singh leaves telecom probe panel

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published Published on Mar 15, 2011   modified Modified on Mar 15, 2011
N.K. Singh, the Janata Dal (United) Rajya Sabha MP, “voluntarily” recused himself from participating in the proceedings of the parliamentary public accounts committee looking into the 2G spectrum allocations.

His decision was made public today by PAC chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi after the panel questioned the editors of Outlook and Open magazines, which published the transcripts of the Radia tapes some months ago.

Singh’s conversation with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia figured in one of the tapes that exposed her efforts to get DMK’s A. Raja the job of telecom minister after the UPA came to power in May 2009. Singh was a PAC member.

“I told Dr Joshi a week ago that when any of this stuff (the tapes) is discussed, I’d like to recuse myself. I am not connected with the 2G business or any of the financial things. There is no direct conflict of interest but I felt I must obviate any perceptions and do so in the interest of upholding the sanctity of parliamentary institutions,” Singh told The Telegraph.

Joshi said in his briefing: “The committee appreciated his voluntary gesture and accepted his request.”

Dal (U) sources claimed their leaders had not “pressured” Singh to withdraw from the deliberations. However, the party has decided to forfeit its PAC membership and put him on another financial panel, the committee on public undertakings.

The term of the present PAC expires by end-April. The chairperson and existing members can, however, be re-nominated on the discretion of the party from which they are elected.

Most PAC members said they were keen to complete the 2G report before the panel’s term expires. “All of us were so involved in the exercise that we would want to see it through to the logical end,” a Congress member said.

Another member said they did not want the joint parliamentary committee, also mandated to look into the scam, to “steal our thunder”.

The next meeting is on March 21 or 22. Once Parliament is adjourned on March 25, the committee might meet almost daily to meet its self-imposed deadline.

Sources said they were not sure how much longer the journalists would be questioned as the panel had to look into other “vital” aspects, such as eliciting the responses of the comptroller and auditor general, the telecom department and Sebi to “objections” filed by private telecom companies named in the departmental reports. Once this part of the job was done, the companies might seek further clarification, they added.

The sources said “nothing substantive” had yet come out of questioning the journalists. Apart from Outlook’s Vinod Mehta and Open’s Manu Joseph, the third journalist questioned was J. Gopikrishnan, a Delhi newspaper reporter who broke the 2G story.

“They kept on saying the same thing, we won’t reveal our sources. They did not add anything more than what is in the public domain. So why waste time on other journalists?” a BJP MP asked.

When Joshi was asked when the “real journalistic players” in the Radia tapes would be summoned, he said: “I will place your suggestion before the committee and if it is accepted, I will inform you.”


The Telegraph, 15 March, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110315/jsp/nation/story_13717153.jsp


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