New Delhi: The question of calling Finance Minister P Chidambaram as a witness before the JPC examining the 2G spectrum scam is unlikely to be settled soon.
A day after JPC Chairman P C Chacko decided to refer to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar the demands for calling Chidambaram, Parliament sources said the Speaker could come into the picture only if any decision on the issue is taken by the entire Committee.
While Chacko was not available despite attempts to contact him, JPC sources said no decision had been taken by the Committee on calling.
Amidst demands by BJP and Left members to call Chidambaram, Chacko said yesterday that he had decided to refer the matter to the Speaker.
Parliament sources said that the JPC Chairman had only apprised the Speaker about the letter of BJP leader Yashwant Sinha to him asking for a quick resolution to the parties' insistence that both Chidambaram and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh be asked to appear before the JPC as witnesses.
BJP members had yesterday kept away from the JPC meeting in protest against Chacko refusing to finalize a witness list. CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and CPI's Gurudas Dasgupta had forcefully raised the demand to call Chidambaram before the committee.
UPA members have insisted there is no case for summoning either Chidambaram or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
During yesterday's deliberations, Congress member Manish Tewari wanted authorised version of the Niira Radia tapes to be made available to the committee, sources said.
He said the government was providing transcripts to the Supreme Court and these could be provided to the JPC as well.
Tewari argued that the Radia tapes - that record of conversations between the lobbyist, corporate bigwigs and politicians - throw light on the role of business in telecom controversies.
PTI
