BJP’s Nitin Gadkari cracks whip,MM Joshi falls in JPC line

However,Joshi today associated himself with his party’s demand for JPC into the issue of corruption,saying he was “fully committed” to it.

The statement was issued a day after his reported meeting with BJP President Nitin Gadkari.

The controversy was first generated by PM Manmohan Singh offering to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to answer all querries related to the 2G telecom scam.

Joshi,who had been ignored by BJP for the last few years as his influence waned,suddenly found himself under the spotlight. He indicated his willingness to accept the PM’s offer,but stopped short of actually doing it.

In this interregnum,BJP leader Sushma Swaraj went public on at least two occasions to impress upon Joshi the importance of rejecting the PM’s offer.

After failing to get any response,Nitin Gadkari was finally roped in to sort out the issue.

He was successful as Joshi announced that he believed a JPC probe to be the best option available to sort out the 2G scam,leaving Sushma Swaraj standing triumphant.

Joshi clarified that the PAC would be looking into only the aspect of accountability in public spending with regard to 2G spectrum allocation.

“As a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party,I stand fully committed to the demand for the formation of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to look into the broader questions related to corruption facing the country today,” Joshi said.

Contending that the “issues of corruption during UPA-II” are of great concern for the people of India,he said the PAC which he heads would look into the matters of public spending based on the CAG reports.

“The PAC has a constitutional jurisdiction and its function is well laid out. It shall function within its purview and within the rules and procedure of the Parliament.

It shall make sure that every paisa of public money is well accounted for,” Joshi said.

He noted that the PAC does not deal just with the Telecom Ministry but analyses every report of the CAG dealing with the various ministries.

“As the Chairman of the PAC,I believe in the Committee’s vast powers in bringing greater accountability to public spending. I commit myself to playing this role effectively,” the BJP leader said.

Joshi’s statement assumes significance as BJP has been uneasy with him pushing forward the PAC inquiry into 2G spectrum allocation,as it was seen as scuttling the Opposition’s relentless demand for JPC probe.

It remains to be seen if there was a quid pro quo,if any,in the Gadkari-Joshi talk.