The JPC rubbished reports to this effect in a section of the press and clarified that no decision has been taken yet on the list of witnesses to be summoned by the Joint Parliamentary Committee. It said suggestions are being received from JPC members regarding persons to be summoned as witnesses before the Committee and the list of witnesses will be finalized only after these suggestions have been received.
It said JPC Chairman P.C. Chacko had made it clear at the press briefing held after the sitting of the Committee on May 30, 2011 that the list of witnesses was yet to be finalized by the Committee and stressed that the question of summoning Vajpayee as a witness before the Committee was not even raised during the sitting of the Committee.
“It is, therefore, categorically stated that the report appearing in certain section of the press regarding the decision of the Joint Parliamentary Committee to summon Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India is factually incorrect and is a mere figment of imagination,” an official statement said.
The JPC’s next sittings on June 7-8 will be crucial when it will be briefed by senior officials of the CBI, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Departments of Revenue and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance including the Enforcement Directorate, Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Financial Intelligence Unit.