JPC to seek 6 months extension

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 20. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the stock market scam would seek a six-months extension to complete its task which has now been enlarged to include the role of the Unit Trust of India in the wake of the recent muddle.

The JPC which met here today to finalise its schedule for sittings during the inter-session period also decided to examine a host of institutions and individuals during the next three months.

Briefing reporters after a meeting today, the JPC Chairman, Mr. Sri Prakash Mani Tripathi, said the Committee would consider whether or not the Prime Minister's Office should be examined and saw questions on the subject as `premature'. While not ruling out the possibility of including the PMO, he left it to the Committee to take a view on it. However, Mr. Tripathi made it clear that there was no question of probing the PMO as a subject.

``The Committee would consider who has to be called'', Mr. Tripathi, said. In reply to a question whether the allegations regarding the role of some officials in the PMO as charged by the Shiv Sena MP, Mr. Sanjay Nirupam, could come in for scrutiny, he said: ``the question is too premature''.

The JPC would seek a transcript of the proceedings of the discussion on the UTI issue in Parliament, he said, adding that there has been no change in the terms of reference. He said, the earlier investigations on the UTI were limited to its role in the stock exchange while the present investigations would cover its entire range of operations. ``The whole performance of UTI would be looked into in a holistic manner,'' Mr. Tripathi said.

The JPC today decided to summon officials of investigative agencies, the Capital Markets Division and the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry, regulatory authorities, stock exchanges, custodians of depositories and securities, role of banks, financial institutions, foreign institutional investors, overseas corporate bodies, representatives of small investors and brokers, promoters, foreign brokers and fund managers.

Between September and November, the JPC would hold 20 sittings. The next meeting is scheduled for August 27 when the

Action Taken Report of the SEBI would be discussed. Thereafter the Chairman would draw up the list of people to be examined.

The 30-member JPC which was constituted towards the end of the Budget session was given time till the end of the ongoing monsoon session to submit its report.

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Section  : National
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