An inquiry into a controversial case by a JPC has thus evolved as a purely political device that may be exploited by the ruling party or the Opposition
As a device to probe questionable dealings of national import, the joint parliamentary committee never really did serve much purpose. This is realised in Britain, where the institution originated. In India, we still put faith in a JPC inquiry. Not much has been learnt from the Bofors experience.
Pushed by the ruling UPA, Parliament has now gone ahead and set up a JPC to go into the alleged corruption in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal.
The JPC on Bofors produced little of importance in the end. It has to be appreciated that a JPC cannot direct the approach to be adopted by the police or any other agency in an investigation. It can merely call all those concerned to depose before it.
The main point of a JPC is that it has the imprimatur of Parliament, and this gets some political traction in a country like ours. Inquiry into a controversial case by a JPC has thus evolved as a purely political device that may be exploited by the ruling party or the Opposition, depending on circumstances. Two years ago, the BJP-led Opposition in Parliament had become unreasonably strident in its demand for a JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scam. The government first resisted it, calculating that if such an inquiry began the Opposition would seek to embarrass it on a daily basis as JPC deliberations do come out through media leaks. But in the end the UPA gave in so as not to appear obstreperous. Then the Opposition appeared to have lost its keenness for the demand.
In the defence helicopter deal, interestingly it was the government that has taken the initiative to set up a time-bound JPC probe, which is to submit its report in three months, to demonstrate that it has nothing to hide and that it is as eager to catch the crooks as the Opposition. The bulk of the Opposition is dissociating with this JPC as it doesn’t wish to give the government an easy ride. Of the Left parties, only the CPI(M) is endorsing the JPC, while the CPI is with the NDA on this matter.
When the general election is just about a year away, the government naturally wants to look good. But there could be more to it in deciding to set up a JPC inquiry into the AgustaWestland deal. The indications so far are that the idea of altering the specifications of the helicopter to be purchased from a foreign source had been taken in principle by the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA government. The present government may wish to bring this on record in a JPC report so that if corruption is confirmed, the NDA too is burnt somewhat from the blowback.
Post new comment