Chacko, Deo frontrunners to head JPC

NEW DELHI: The choice of chairperson for the joint parliamentary committee on the 2G spectrum scam is veering to two veteran Congress MPs, P C Chacko and Kishore Chandra Deo. Another Congress MP being considered is Girija Vyas but her prospects seem slimmer.

Chacko is seen to be a reliable Congress old-timer and is on the panel of presiding officers in Lok Sabha. He has sometimes clashed with opposition BJP.

Deo was considered for the Speaker's post and is also, like Chacko, a dyed in the wool Congressman.

Deo heads the committee on public enterprises and enjoys a reputation for being a no-nonsense MP. He intervened strongly to protect the environmentally fragile Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh and does not have the interests that several wealthy MPs from the state have. 

Chacko was out of Parliament for a while and staged a return on the strength of a Congress wave in the 2009 national election. He did not make it to the council of ministers but might fit the bill for a politically sensitive JPC.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansal said it was not yet clear whether the joint parliamentary committee will have 21 or 30 members. The representation will be on basis of bench strength with parties like DMK and JD(U) certain to be present besides Left which claimed representation on its combined strength.

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