Joint Parliamentary Committee debate in Parliament today

NEW DELHI - The Government and the Opposition will debate in Parliament today the terms of reference of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G spectrum scam and pass a resolution.

The final composition of the 30-member panel will also be decided today.

On Wednesday, the government gave up its earlier plan for a 21-member panel and conceded the Opposition’s demand for having 30 members in the JPC to probe the 2G scam.

The panel will have 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. According to sources, Congress MP PC Chako is likely to head the JPC.

In the 30-member panel, the Congress will have eleven members - eight from the Lok Sabha and three from the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP will have six members - four from the Lok Sabha and two from the Rajya Sabha

The decision to have 30 members was taken after senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders conveyed to the government that smaller parties also want representation in the panel, the formation of which was promised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

The Motion for the formation of JPC will be moved by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal at 2 p.m. in the Lok Sabha. This will be followed by a four-hour discussion on the issue

During the Winter Session, the government’s no to a JPC inquiry into the 2G scam led to a complete paralysis of Parliament with less than ten hours of business being conducted.

Former Telecom Minister A Raja, his personal secretary RK Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behuria and managing director of DB Realty Shahid Balwa have been so far arrested in 2G scam over their alleged roles

Raja was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet last year after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (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. (ANI)