Will oppose JPC draft report if Raja not allowed to depose: SP

Samajwadi Party, which extends crucial outside support to UPA, today said it would "oppose" the JPC draft report if former Telecom Minister A Raja is not allowed to personally depose before it, but ruled out siding with BJP in demanding removal of P C Chacko as chairman of the committee.

Samajwadi Party, which extends crucial outside support to UPA, today said it would "oppose" the JPC draft report if former telecom minister A Raja is not allowed to personally depose before it, but ruled out siding with BJP in demanding removal of P C Chacko as chairman of the committee.

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In perhaps its first public reaction to the draft report which gives a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P Chidambaram, the party said, "We can't go with the BJP" in demanding Chacko's removal.

"But we wish to state clearly that A Raja should be given an opportunity to appear before the Committee. If not, then we will oppose the (draft) report," SP leader Naresh Agarwal told reporters outside Parliament House.

On Tuesday, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had told his MPs that the draft report was "one sided" as Raja was not given an opportunity to appear before the JPC. He had also said that courts allow an accused to present his views and the former telecom minister should be allowed to give his side of picture.

The draft report has indicted Raja of misleading the prime minister while taking decisions on spectrum allocation in 2008.

After the draft report came in the public domain, Raja wrote to the panal saying he had informed the PM on "every major decision" he took with regard to spectrum allocation.