After lying low for long, the DMK has finally mustered courage to take on the Congress in general and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in particular on the 2G scam.
In its dissent note to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the scam, the party described the report as an attempt to save the prime minister.
Though belated, the DMK’s assertion lends credence to reports that it is gravitating towards the BJP for a possible tie-up to face the coming Lok Sabha elections. Remember, the BJP too dubbed the JPC report as tutored for political expediency.
Besides, the dissent note is yet another proof that the DMK is not willing to abandon its Dalit face A Raja, the disgraced former telecom minister. Both Raja and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi have cases pending against them in the 2G scam, which cost the party dearly in the 2011 Assembly elections.
The dissent note, submitted by party veteran T R Baalu, himself a former Union minister and a member of the JPC, says: “Unfortunately, full facts have not been properly appreciated in the preparation of the report and facts have been chosen selectively and conveniently to reach a pre-conceived conclusion.”
Criticising JPC chairman P C Chacko for his refusal to allow Raja to be examined as well as scrutinise vital documents, Baalu’s note calls it inexplicable. He also questions the rationale behind exempting the prime minister, finance minister, external affairs minister and the solicitor general from deposing before the panel.
Citing an official correspondence Raja had with Manmohan Singh, he says the file noting of the PM’s private secretary nails the lie that the PM was kept in the dark by the former telecom minister. “PM wants this informally shared with the Deptt. Does not want a formal communication & wants PMO to be at arm’s length,” Baalu quotes the PM’s private secretary as having said in the note.
On the charge that Raja had mislead the PM, the dissent note wonders how this conclusion could be reached without even examining the PM and the former telecom minister. In assailing the JPC report, Baalu relies heavily on procedural lapses and cites the legal opinion tendered by the solicitor general, who had advised that what had been proposed was fair and reasonable.
In its dissent note to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the scam, the party described the report as an attempt to save the prime minister.
Though belated, the DMK’s assertion lends credence to reports that it is gravitating towards the BJP for a possible tie-up to face the coming Lok Sabha elections. Remember, the BJP too dubbed the JPC report as tutored for political expediency.
Besides, the dissent note is yet another proof that the DMK is not willing to abandon its Dalit face A Raja, the disgraced former telecom minister. Both Raja and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi have cases pending against them in the 2G scam, which cost the party dearly in the 2011 Assembly elections.
The dissent note, submitted by party veteran T R Baalu, himself a former Union minister and a member of the JPC, says: “Unfortunately, full facts have not been properly appreciated in the preparation of the report and facts have been chosen selectively and conveniently to reach a pre-conceived conclusion.”
Criticising JPC chairman P C Chacko for his refusal to allow Raja to be examined as well as scrutinise vital documents, Baalu’s note calls it inexplicable. He also questions the rationale behind exempting the prime minister, finance minister, external affairs minister and the solicitor general from deposing before the panel.
Citing an official correspondence Raja had with Manmohan Singh, he says the file noting of the PM’s private secretary nails the lie that the PM was kept in the dark by the former telecom minister. “PM wants this informally shared with the Deptt. Does not want a formal communication & wants PMO to be at arm’s length,” Baalu quotes the PM’s private secretary as having said in the note.
On the charge that Raja had mislead the PM, the dissent note wonders how this conclusion could be reached without even examining the PM and the former telecom minister. In assailing the JPC report, Baalu relies heavily on procedural lapses and cites the legal opinion tendered by the solicitor general, who had advised that what had been proposed was fair and reasonable.
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