The government on Friday rejected, in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition demand for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the Volcker findings on pay-offs in Iraqi oil deals, saying the Justice R S Pathak Inquiry Authority had already started its work and its scope was 'very wide'.
"I do not see that any purpose will be served by a JPC at this stage," leader of the House and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee responded after Bharatiya Janata Party deputy leader V K Malhotra raised the issue.
Mukherjee said the Opposition first asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, then demanded that a first information report be filed and 'now, suddenly they want a JPC'.
Emphasising that all 'new factors' relating to the Volcker issue would be sent to the Inquiry Authority, he said, since 'to suggest a completely new mechanism is not acceptable'.
Complete coverage: The Volcker Report