New Delhi, April 28
Despite the priority Public Account Committee chairman Murli Manohar Joshi accorded to the timely submission of the 2G Spectrum report, the same appears set for an indefinite delay unless of course a miracle ensures its adoption by the majority.

The committee members from the ruling Congress-DMK alliance, along with those from the BSP and the SP, today managed to stall the report’s adoption, with experts saying that the draft report can only be submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker after it has been considered and adopted by the PAC, not otherwise.

“As per procedure, when a report is presented to the committee for adoption, the chairman reads out every paragraph. If anyone has an objection, he can move an amendment which would have to be adopted by the majority. For the report to be adopted as a whole, unanimity is required. If consensus is elusive, the majority’s will prevails,” former Lok Sabha Secretary General PDT Achary today told The Tribune.

Achary said a report is termed as “finished agenda” only after it has been adopted by the committee. “Only finished reports can be submitted to the Speaker. An unfinished report would have to be taken up by the new PAC if the term of the serving PAC expires. The new committee may or may not give priority to the said report. It has the right to list its agenda,” Achary said.

By that yardstick, the PAC’s draft report on 2G allocation appears set for an indefinite delay with the ruling combine determined to oppose it as “unilateral and predetermined”. With just two days left for Joshi as PAC chairman, (his term ends on April 30), he is unlikely to forge a consensus. Even if he were to reconvene the PAC meeting after today’s adjournment, the Congress-DMK combine (hit by the indictment of its leaders) is unlikely to oblige with a consensus. With the majority on their side (Mayawati and Mulayam Singh are helping the Congress), they can again defeat the report, if put to vote.

Meanwhile, Achary described as “unprecedented” the election of a new PAC chairman by Congress and DMK members today. “A new chairman can be elected by the committee only when the present chairman is unavailable. That’s not the case here. Also if the chairman has adjourned a meeting, only he can reconvene it,” Achary told The Tribune.

The BJP was quick to slam the UPA for attacking Joshi on political grounds. “We see these attacks as a part of pattern. How is it that when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh found him competent for the PAC chief, the Congress is calling him a villain? BJP strongly condemns deliberate and sponsored attack on Murli Manohar Joshi by the Congress,” party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.