2G: Yechury backs calling Raja as witness before JPC

Communist Party of India-Marxist member in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum allocation Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday supported calling former Telecom Minister A Raja as a witness before the panel saying it will help reaching "closer to the truth".

"We have no objection if he comes. More the witnesses the merrier, closer to the truth we can get," he told reporters outside Parliament House.

On Friday last, Raja had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and JPC Chairman P C Chacko expressing his willingness to appear before the committee as a witness. He has claimed that he has been "condemned unheared" and wants to present his side of the story.

Chacko has said that he is yet to take a decision on calling Raja before the committee and would consult members individually.

 Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members in JPC T R Baalu and T Siva have been pressing Chacko to call Raja as a witness.

Chacko is apparently against calling Raja as a witness. He has told members that as an accused Raja has legal protection and cannot make fresh revelations before any committee. Therefore, there was no point in calling Raja.

Congress members in the JPC are against calling Raja as a witness as his deposition could be used by opposition members, including BJP and the Left, in cornering the government. Raja has maintained that he had kept the Prime Minister's Office and others informed about his decisions on 2G licencing issue.