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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Chairman of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) PC Chacko of being ‘biased’ and threatened to quit the panel, saying a decision in this regard will be taken soon. Interacting with reporters here, senior BJP leader and one of the JPC members Yashwant Sinha said his party has lost faith in the panel and did not expect it to uncover the truth. “All of us have come to the conclusion that there is no point in continuing to serve in the JPC because the manner in which the Chairman of the JPC is functioning, it is quite clear that the Joint Parliamentary Committee is not now an instrument for uncovering the truth,” Sinha said. He alleged that the Committee has become an instrument for “putting a cover to conceal and not indulge in honest inquiry.” Further, he added the BJP will deliberate on its continuance in the JPC soon after Thursday's Bharat Bandh organised by the party against the diesel price hike and FDI issues. Earlier in the day, the BJP leaders, led by Sinha, walked out of the JPC meeting, held to examine various aspects of the 2G-spectrum scam. The BJP, which is insisting on a listing of witnesses to appear before JPC in connection with the 2G-spectrum scam, wants Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to be called in as witnesses. JPC members, including Yashwant Sinha and Ravi Shankar Prasad, want the committee head, P Chacko of the Congress, to decide whether the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister will be added to the list of witnesses. Today, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao was scheduled to testify about his role as Finance Secretary when the telecom swindle was being played out. BJP members of the JPC, who had threatened to quit earlier last month, say the Prime Minister and Chidambaram must explain why they were unable to intervene when former Telecom Minister A. Raja engineered and executed the release of second-generation spectrum or 2G in an illegal manner. Raja followed a first-come-first-serve policy to award licenses for mobile operators. Accusing Congress members of using foul language, five of the six members had walked out of JPC proceedings on August 22. A war of words had then broken out between the BJP and the Congress members over the demand to summon the Prime Minister and Chidambaram as witnesses.

BJP threatens to quit JPC as panel chief Chacko is “biased”