New Delhi, April 18
Moving on the expected lines, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G Spectrum scam today gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, a move which has been flayed as a "cover-up" by Opposition parties.

Manmohan Singh

The report, which was sent to members of the JPC today, clearly states that neither Prime Minister Manmohan Singh nor Finance Minister P Chidambaram had any involvement in the scam. They were not informed of the change in policy by the then Telecom Minister A Raja, it said.

Making former Telecom Minister A Raja the fall guy, the JPC report said the 2G Spectrum was allocated on "first come, first served" basis and that norms were tweaked to favour a few companies.

The JPC said the PM and Chidambaram played no role in tweaking norms and that it was A Raja who changed the rules without informing the PM.

A Raja

The JPC has reportedly put the entire onus on Raja for the wrong that was done.

Reacting to the report, the Left Parties said, "It was a cover-up" and needed further inquest."

The report of the JPC, although ready, has not been formally adopted. For that to happen, the government needs support of 16 out of 30 members who are part of the JPC. The UPA currently has 12 members.

The report suggested that with the recent bonhomie, the JD(U) with two members, may support the UPA. The SP and the BSP are also being canvassed for support. Recently, the BJP had hit out at JPC Chairman PC Chacko for "protecting PM" and not calling Raja to depose.