MUMBAI: Reiterating his stand on Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe on the Adani issue, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said JPC probe would not be fair and impartial as the majority of members will be from the ruling party and therefore the Oppositions should focus on Supreme Court-monitored committee.
He said NCP stand is different from the other Opposition parties on VD Savarkar and JPC demand on Adani, but they are with the Opposition when the fight comes against the BJP.“We are very much part of the Opposition. We do have differences of opinion over certain issues and that has to be there in democracy. It is true that NCP was also part of the Opposition demanding the JPC on Adani and it also participated in a protest in Delhi demanding the JPC. But now I feel that more than the JPC, the Supreme Court-monitored committee will probe Adani in a fair, time-bound, and impartial way,” Pawar said.
He said out of total 21 JPC members, the BJP will have a majority with 15 members, while the Opposition will get mere six representatives. At present, 16-18 parties are demanding the JPC probe, but all of them are unlikely to get representation on the JPC due to their fewer numbers of Lok Sabha members.“I was also a member and head of several JPCs earlier and knew the end result and its fallout. The JPC result will
not be fairly accepted by the Opposition. We should trust and believe more in the Supreme Court than any foreign agency like Hindenburg,” said the former agriculture minister.
The Congress party on the other hand continues to be firm on demand for the JPC probe. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said that irrespective of NCP President Sharad Pawar’s opinion, there must be a JPC inquiry to find out the truth about the Adani scam.A probe by the JPC is necessary for the facts of the Adani scam to come out, he said.
Patole said the money from LIC, State Bank of India, and EPFO was illegally invested by the Modi government in the Adani group.“Hindenburg's report exposes malpractices in the Adani group and puts forward the question of whether public money is safe. Why is Prime Minister Modi not talking about the Adani scam when it is such a big and serious issue? What is the reason to panic if there is nothing wrong?” asked Patole."