Pawar Play: Did NCP chief get it wrong on Adani JPC?

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday threw a spanner in the works of the Opposition by opining that Congress’ insistence on a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate billionaire Gautam Adani, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was needless. In January, the US-based investment research firm Hindenburg had disclosed that the Adani conglomerate had incurred “substantial debt” and was overvalued as much as 85 per cent beyond actual worth.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Pawar said that after the Opposition had created a ruckus in Parliament, even leading to a washout, the Supreme Court had appointed a committee with a retired Supreme Court judge, an expert, an administrator, and an economist, which should suffice. He submitted that the Apex Court panel would bring out the truth while the JPC on the otherhand, would be dominated by the ruling BJP’s members including a saffron party chairman, which would hinder an objective probe, he reasoned.

“The opposition wanted a parliamentary committee to be appointed. If a parliamentary committee is appointed, then monitoring is with the ruling party. The demand was against the ruling party, and if the committee appointed for an inquiry has a ruling party majority, then how will the truth come out is a valid concern. If the Supreme Court, who no one can influence, if they were to conduct the inquiry, then there is a better chance of the truth coming to light. So, after the Supreme Court announced an inquiry, there is no significance of a JPC Probe. It is not needed,” Pawar told NDTV.

Significance of instrument, past precedent

Pawar’s reported overtures to the BJP aside, the argument doesn’t take into consideration the democratic value of a JPC apart from past precedent. While a JPC’s recommendations are not binding, it does have far ranging powers to investigate, which would provide the Opposition with ample opportunity to grill the Centre and shape political dialogue.

Moreover, a severely weakened Opposition also gets access to relevant files and seeks answers. Past JPCs include one on the 2G spectrum allocation row, alleged kickbacks paid to Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors, two on supposed stock market manipulations and one on pesticide residues and safety standards pertaining to soft drinks.

2G allocations elicited Parl committee

The 2G spectrum JPC had exonerated then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but the Opposition BJP had managed to question and maintain pressure on him throughout the process. The Opposition had hung on to every word of Telecom Minister A Raja and dragged the Centre through the coals.

Then BJP MP Yashwant Sinha even wrote to the PM, demanding that he appear before the JPC. The body’s chairman PC Chacko had taken Sinha to task, reminding him that he had no power to issue summons. Singh himself went on record to state that he had no qualms about appearing before the JPC if the summons had come through the correct channels.

However, the damage was done and the BJP made it seem like the PM had something to hide and therefore unwilling to depose. Congress can use this precedent and summon Modi. The courts acquitted Raja and the validity of 2G spectrum allocation being called a scam was called into question but BJP ensured 2G remained a talking point in the lead up to the 2014 general elections.  

Congress contends that the issue was about much more than stock manipulation and extended to crony capitalism. “The SC committee is Adani-centred. The questions we raise are aimed at PM Modi and the government,” All India Congress Committee (AICC) communications chairman Jairam Ramesh said. “The SC committee will not raise these questions. Only the JPC can deliberate on these questions,” he added.