Joshi says he is committed to JPC

NEW DELHI - As head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) he believed in its powers to bring greater accountability but as a member of the BJP he was also committed to the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to look into broader issues of corruption, Murli Manohar Joshi said Thursday.

“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, Joshi said in a statement.

“As a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, I stand fully committed to the demand for the formation a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the broader questions related to corruption facing the country today, Joshi added in a bid to balance his dual roles as senior BJP leader and chairman of the PAC.

The statement came after Joshi met BJP president Nitin Gadkari Wednesday night following reports that the party was unhappy with him that the PAC would consider Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s offer to appear before panel in connection with the allocation of 2G spectrum.

Joshi’s stand fuelled speculation about a rift between the senior BJP leader and the party over the issue of the demand for a JPC for probing the telecom scam.

In his statement, Joshi voiced concern over “issues of corruption” and stressed that the PAC 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, he said.

“The PAC does not deal just with the telecom ministry. It analyses every report of the CAG dealing with the various ministries, he added.