JPC on 2G scam is fifth of its kind
By IANSThursday, February 24, 2011
NEW DELHI - The government Thursday moved a bill to constitute a joint parliamentary committee to probe the alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation. There have been four other JPCs in the past.
The first JPC was constituted to probe the Bofors guns deal. The motion was moved by then defence minister K.C. Pant in the Lok Sabha August 6, 1987. The committee, headed by B. Shankaranand, held 50 sittings and gave its report April 26, 1988.
The second JPC was called to investigate the multi-billion rupee stock market scam by broker Harshad Mehta. The motion was moved by the then minister for parliamentary affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Lok Sabha August 6, 1992. The JPC was presided by former Congress leader Ram Niwas Mirdha and gave its report December 21, 1993.
The third time a multi-party parliamentary probe was conducted was also a market scam allegedly by Ketan Parikh in 2001. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) then parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan piloted the motion in the Lok Sabha April 26, 2001. The BJP’s Lt. Gen. (Retd) Prakash Mani Tripathi was named to head it. The committee held 105 sittings and gave its report December 19, 2002.
The fourth JPC was set up in August 2003 to look into pesticides in beverages and to lay safety standards for them. The committee held 17 sittings and submitted its report to parliament February 4, 2004.
