03 April,2013 04:38 PM IST | | Agencies
Reiterating that neither the government nor he has anything to hide in the 2G case, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has replied to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha's letter, and said that the decision regarding which individuals should be asked to appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is a matter that is to be decided by the committee and its chairman.
The PM has said that all pertinent records and documents available with the government have already been placed with the JPC looking into the 2G scam.
"I have received your letter of 1 April, 2013 regarding the Joint Parliamentary Committee looking into the 2G matter. You are aware that all pertinent records and documents available with the Government have already been placed at the disposal of the JPC. I have said from the beginning that neither the Government nor I have anything to hide in this matter," said excerpt of Dr. Singh's letter to Sinha.
"The decision as to what evidence should be sought and which individuals should be asked to appear before the JPC is a matter that needs to be decided internally by the JPC and its Chairman," the letter adds.
Sinha, who has described the functioning of the JPC on 2G scam as "scandalous", has demanded that the PM and Finance Minister P Chidambaram appear before it for the truth to come out.
Sinha, also a member of the JPC, has raised serious objections over not convening of the panel meeting for two months now and demanded that then Telecom Minister A Raja, who has been wanting to appear before the JPC, be allowed to do so as he is a key witness in the scam.
He had written to the PM, asking him to appear before the JPC.
Sinha had earlier lashed out at JPC chairman PC Chacko for not inviting A Raja to depose before it in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, saying it's a very serious issue.
He alleged that the parliamentary panel is being used to conceal truth in the 2G scam.
Chacko has expressed his displeasure over Sinha's latter to the PM and termed it to be a "political stunt and against norms".
Raja was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet after a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum and added that the government had probably lost Rs 1.76 lakh crore in estimated revenue.u00a0