The United Progressive Alliance government has announced the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the Rs 176,000 crore 2G scam. The JPC will comprise 20 members from Lok Sabha and ten members from Rajya Sabha.
Rediff.com takes a look at the members from various parties who will probe independent India's biggest scam. We start with the JPC members in Lok Sabha.
Congress members in JPC:
P C Chacko: The chairperson of the JPC is a Congress MP from Thrissur, Kerala. He has been a member of LS for four terms. Earlier, Chacko was active in state politics and played a major role in the Kerala unit of the Congress as well as the Youth Congress. Chacko is known as an articulate speaker who has in-depth knowledge of the subject he raises in the House. Earlier, he was considered to be close to Defence Minister A K Antony, but differences have cropped up between the two since then.
Since his election to Parliament in 2009, he has been a member of the Committee on Energy, the Committee on Security in Parliament Complex, the Standing Committee on Science & Techonology, Environment & Forest, the General Purposes Committee and the Joint Committee on Office on Profit.
He is also the chairman of the Committee on Privilege.
Paban Singh Ghatowar: He is an MP from Dibrugarh, Assam and is serving his fifth term in the Lok Sabha. Ghatowar is also the chief whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the Lower House of Parliament. He is a member of several panels, including the Business Advisory Committee, the Committee on Energy, the Committee of Privileges, the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals.
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This team will probe India's biggest scam
V Kishore Chandra Deo: First elected to Parliament in 1977, the Congress MP from Araku, Andhra Pradesh has been a member of Lok Sabha for five terms and a member of Rajya Sabha for one term.
During his long tenure in the legislature, Deo has been a member of several parliamentary committees. He is currently the chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings and a member of the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, the General Purpose Committee, the Business Advisory Committee and the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Defence.
Manish Tiwari: Best known as the quote-happy spokesperson of the Congress, Tiwari is also a MP from Ludhiana. A lawyer by profession, he has served as the president of the National Student's Union and the Youth Congress before being appointed as party spokesperson in 1998.
He is a member of several parliamentary panels, including the Committee on Estimates, the Standing -Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Defence, the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Law and Justice and the Committee on Regional Direct Taxes Advisory, Ministry of Finance.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
Deepender Singh Hooda: He is a Congress MP from Rohtak, Haryana and is currently serving his second term in Lok Sabha. He is a member of the Committee on Human Resource Development and the Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.
Jai Prakash Agarwal: A MP from North East Delhi, Agarwal has held important posts in the Youth Congress and Delhi's municipal corporation. He was made the chief of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee in 2007.
He is currently serving his fourth term in the Lok Sabha and has also enjoyed a stint in the Rajya Sabha. Agarwal is the chairman of the House Committee and a member of the Committee on Urban Development and the General Purposes Committee.
Dr Nirmal Khatri: He is a MP from Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh and a former member of the state's legislative assembly. Khatri has been a member of the All India Congress Committee and is serving his second term in Lok Sabha.
He is a member of the Standing Committee on Railways and the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Human Resource Development. Khatri is also the convenor of the Second Sub-Committee of the Committee of Parliament.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury: He is a MP from Baharampur, West Bengal and is serving his third term in Parliament. He is a member of the House Committee, the Committee on Estimates, the Committee on Energy, the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Food Processing, the Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs and the Committee on Estimates.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
BJP members in the JPC:
Harin Pathak: A veteran Parliamentarian, Pathak is currently serving his 7th term in the Lok Sabha. He is a MP from Ahmedabad East and has been a member of the Jan Sangh since the late 1960s.
During the regime of the National Democratic Alliance government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pathak worked as the minister of state for four different ministries.
He is currently the chairman of the Committee on Papers Laid on the Table. He is also a member of the House Committee, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, General Purpose Committee and the Committee on Food Management in Parliament House Complex.
Jaswant Singh: The member of Parliament from Darjeeling, West Bengal has been the subject of much controversy in the last couple of years after he was suspended from the party due to his comments on M A Jinnah. Singh was later re-inducted into the party by BJP president Nitin Gadkari.
A seasoned parliamentarian, he has been a member of RS for a whopping five terms and a member of the LS four times. He is currently the member of the Committee on Public Accounts and a member of the Committee on Budget.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
Gopinath Munde: The MP from Maharashtra's Beed region was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2009. He is a veteran in state politics, having served in the state legislature for five terms. Munde has also held the posts of Maharashtra's deputy chief minister and the leader of Opposition.
He is the chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts and the Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers. He is a member of the Business Advisory Committee, the Committee on Public Accounts, the Committee on Finance, the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs, the General Purposes Committee and the Committee on Ethics.
Yashwant Sinha: One of the senior-most leaders of the BJP, Sinha has served as the finance minister of India for nearly nine years and its defence minister for two years. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for two terms each.
Sinha is currently the chairman of the powerful Committee on Finance and the Consultative Committee, Ministry of External Affairs. He is also a member of the Committee on Public Accounts.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
Members of regional parties in the JPC:
T R Baalu: The former Union minister for shipping and road transport will have the toughest job in the JPC. The Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam leader will have to probe a scam that was allegedly perpetrated by his former colleague and fellow party leader A Raja.
Incidentally, Baalu has already met Raja at Tihar Jail, where the former telecom minister is lodged.
Baalu is serving his 5th term in the Lok Sabha and is the head of the DMK Parliamentary Party.
He is the chairman of the Standing Committee on Railways and a member of the Business Advisory Committee, the Consultative Committee, Ministry of Finance, the Committee on Ethics, the General Purposes Committee, the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment and the Parliamentary Forum on Water Conservation and Management.
Kalyan Banerjee: A senior leader of the Trinamool Congress, Banerjee was appointed general secretary of the party in 2007 and elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2009. He is the chairman of the Committee on Coal and Steel and a member of the Committee on Privileges.
Akhilesh Yadav: The tech-savvy Yadav, son of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh, is the MP from Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh. Currently serving his third term in Lok Sabha, he has earlier served on several parliamentary panels and is currently a member of the Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
Dara Singh Chauhan: A MP from Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Chauhan is the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha. Though this is his first term in the Lok Sabha, he has been elected to the Rajya Sabha twice.
He is the chairman of the Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment. Chauhan is a member of the Business Advisory Committee, Committee on Installation of Potraits/Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in Parliament House Complex, the Committee on Security in Parliament Complex, the Committee on Government Assurances, the General Purposes Committee and the Joint Committee on Office of Profit.
Gurudas Dasgupta: A MP from Ghatal in West Bengal, he is the leader of the Communist Party of India Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha. Dasgupta is one of the most vocal leaders of the Left Front. This is his second term in the Lok Sabha but he has been elected to the Rajya Sabha thrice till now.
He is a member of the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Petitions, the Committee on Ethics and the Consultative Committee on Labour.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
Arjun Charan Sethi: A MP from Bhadrak in Orissa, this Biju Janata Dal MP is serving his 7th term in Lok Sabha. He has been the leader of the BJD's Parliamentary Party since 1999.
He is a member of the Panel of Chairmen, the Standing Committee on Industry and the Committee on Estimates.
Sharad Yadav: The Janata Dal - United president is serving his seventh term in the Lok Sabha. Currently the convenor of the National Democratic Alliance, Yadav held the crucial portfolios of labour and civil aviation during the NDA's regime.
He is the chairman of the Committee on Urban Development.
Dr Munisamy Thambidurai: Thambidurai is the sole representative of the DMK's arch foe All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the JPC. He is the leader of the AIADMK Parliamentary Party and is serving his fourth term in Lok Sabha.
A former deputy speaker of the House, he is currently Chairman of the Library Committee.
Dr Thambidurai is a Member of the Panel of Chairmen, the Committee on Public Accounts, the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Government Assurances.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
Let us take a look at the JPC members in the Rajya Sabha. Three Congress leaders have found a place in the high-profile panel.
P J Kurien: This senior leader from Kerala is also the chief whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha. He has earlier served as the chief whip of the CPP in Lok Sabha. Kurien, who started his political career as an active member of the Kerala unit of the party, has been elected to the LS six times.
He is a member of the Committee on Defence, the Committee on Commerce, the Select Committee to examine the Commercial Division of High Courts Bill and the Business Advisory Committee.
Praveen Rashtrapal: A former income tax official, Rashtrapal represents Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha since his election to the upper House in 2006. He is a member of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation.
Jayanthi Natarajan: Best known as the spokesperson for Congress, Natarajan has been a member of Rajya Sabha four times. Ironically, she is facing charges of corruption herself after the Chennai high court issued a notice to her in connection with a Rs 300 crore land scam.
Natarajan is the Chairman of the Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice and member of the Select Committee to examine the Commercial Division of High Courts Bill
This team will probe India's biggest scam
Not to be left behind, BJP has named two of its most well-known leaders for the JPC.
S S Ahluwalia: A former leader of the Congress, he joined the BJP in 2000 and is currently the deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha. Ahluwalia has been on the forefront of his party's campaign against the UPA over the 2G scam and the controversy over the central vigilance commissioner.
He is a the convenor of the Sub-Committee on Civil Defence & Rehabilitation of J & K Migrants of the Committee on Home Affairs and a member of the Committee on Finance and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
Ravi Shankar Prasad: The BJP spokesperson is expected to be the party's answer to the inclusion of Congress spokespersons Manish Trivedi and Jayanthi Natarajan in the JPC. According to insiders, since the JPC probe may turn into a 'battle of perceptions', the spokespersons from both parties could play a crucial role.
He is a Member of the Committee on Information, the Committee of Privileges and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of External Affairs.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
JPC members from other parties:
Sitaram Yechury: He is one of the senior-most leaders of the Communist Part of India - Marxist and a member of the party's powerful politburo. Yechury has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for allegedly turning a blind eye to Raja's antics in connection with the 2G scam.
Despite being a national leader of the Left Front for years, Yehcury was first elected to Parliament in 2005. He is a member of the Committee of Privileges and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Installation of Portraits/ Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in Parliament House.
Tiruchi Siva: The DMK member of Rajya Sabha was initially an active member in the party's student wing and later in its youth wing. He is a frequent contributor to the DMK's mouthpiece Murasoli. He will have the unenviable task of probing fellow party leader A Raja's role in the massive 2G scam.
He is a member of the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Committee on Subordinate Legislation Member, the Committee on Home Affairs, the Committee of Privileges and the General Purposes Committee.
This team will probe India's biggest scam
Y P Trivedi: Like his party chief Sharad Pawar, this Nationalist Congress Party leader is closely associated with sports and is a former president of the Cricket Club of India. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2008.
He is a member of the Committee on Finance and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Commerce.
Satish Chandra Misra: Apart from being a RS member since 2004, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's blue-eyed boy is also the general secretary of the BSP. The former advocate general of UP is one of Mayawati's closes confidants and has legally defended her in multiple corruption cases. He is also credited as being the mastermind of Mayawati's much-hyped social engineering formula.
He is a member of the Sub-Committee on Civil Defence & Rehabilitation of J&K Migrants of the Committee on Home Affairs, the General Purposes Committee and the Committee on Ethics.
Ramchandra Prasad Singh: The Janata Dal - United leader from Bihar is the only representative of his part in the JPC from the upper House.
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