15 of 21 JPC members from NDA, a clear imbalance: Pawar on his stand

MUMBAI: A day after saying the Adani Group was being targeted and questioning the logic behind the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe, NCP president Sharad Pawar sought to clarify his position on the issue. While he had on Friday mentioned “BJP’s majority” as the reason behind his questioning of the need for a JPC, he explained on Saturday that there would be a doubt over the outcome of the probe as the JPC would have more members of governing NDA.

“In the JPC, there are 21 members, out of which 15 belong to the NDA, while the remaining six belong to the opposition.As there will be a clear imbalance, doubts will be expressed on the outcome of the probe,” said Pawar.
Pawar said he respected the view of the opposition, but even as19 opposition parties had come together, all of them would not get an opportunity to work on the JPC.
On Congress demand seeking explanation of Rs 20,000 crore in the Adani Group, he said, “I have no information on Rs 20,000 crore, I will speak on it after securing full information. ”
He said he was not opposed to a JPC. “In the past too, there were several JPCs, and I had occasion to head a JPC long ago. Since the JPC works on majority view, the Supreme Court-appointed committee will be more effective and result oriented,” he further said.
Pawar once again questioned the credentials of the international shortseller Hindenburg. He said, “I don’t know who is Hindenburg, I read the report in a section of the media. The question is if a foreign based firm gives an opinion on an India firm, what importance should we give to such a report. Under such circumstances, the SC panel appears more effective. We should take advice from a committee of our own country instead of a foreign firm. ”
Pawar further said that the Supreme Court has set a deadline for completing the investigation.
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, however, said only a JPC probe would reveal the truth in the Adani scam, while MPCC president Nana Patole said irrespective of Pawar’s opinion, a JPC alone can investigate the scam.
Chavan said it would be wrong to compare the JPC with an SC-appointed committee. “JPC represents the people, but that is not the case with the SC-appointed committee. During UPA regime, several JPCs were appointed, but Narendra Modi never accepted the authority of JPC, he is not ready for a scrutiny by JPC,” he added.