Four months after he had dug in his heels braving BJP pressure to resign, former BJP leader Jaswant Singh has suddenly put in his papers as the chairman of the coveted Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
Though he had been appointed to the post by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, in practice, he owed this position to the BJP?PAC chairmanship as a matter of tradition goes to the main Opposition party. The BJP had publicly sought his resignation on the ground that he had been expelled by the party last August. Singh took the stand that party-affiliation could not determine the functioning of committees. Appointed to the post on August 6, Singh was due to complete his tenure in March.
Speaking to the media, Singh denied he was under pressure or was taking the step due to any new political calculation. ?I am surprised and saddened that you see some calculation?there is life beyond calculations even in politics?. He also denied that his decision was linked to the Gorkhaland issue.
?I wanted to establish a point, which has got established?the primacy of autonomy in functioning of Parliamentary Committees.? He said it was ?incorrect? for political parties to ask chairmen of committees to vacate their seats. ?This too is an encroachment on propriety and prerogative of Parliament and its committees as tomorrow parties would say, write this in the report or don?t write this.?
Sources said Singh was advised by official circles to step down because his continuation remained an irritant in an otherwise smooth equation between the government and the main Opposition party in Parliament. The sources said, ?His continuation defeats the basic formulation of the Opposition acting as the watchdog over the government in the key financial committee.?
The 22-member panel is mandated to examine accounts showing appropriation of sums granted by Parliament for the expenditure of the government and to scrutinise the report of the CAG.