In an interesting turn of events, the Public Accounts Committee Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi summoned two senior editors of newsweeklies to depose before the PAC in connection to the 2G spectrum scam. Vinod Mehta and Manu Joseph, editors of
Outlook and
Open Magazine respectively were interrogated about the transcripts of the phone conversations that corporate lobbyist Niira Radia had with others, which were carried in their publications.
The recordings had exposed among other things the efforts made by Radia, who represented top corporate clients, to get Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam leader A Raja the job of telecom minister after the United Progressive Alliance won the Lok Sabha elections in May 2009.
However, the PAC has not called for the interrogation of the main players in the scam, which include Radia and other corporates, politicians, bureaucrats and senior journalists Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi, who were part of the conversation. Asked if any of those whose names that cropped up in the Radia tapes would be questioned, Joshi said the committee is yet to take a call on this.
It is however learnt that the committee has sent letters to both Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi to appear before it in the next meeting. So far no date has been fixed for the next meet since Parliament is in session, say insiders.
Mehta and Joseph were called by the committee to give details