A senior Congress leader, who declined to be identified, said that Joshi was allegedly exceeding the brief of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at a time when the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has been set up and has started its work.
The contention of the leader was that the JPC has been set up due to the insistence of the Opposition, especially the BJP, and therefore it was the bounden duty of that party to ensure that the JPC runs smoothly and there is no obstruction in its work.
Since the BJP has nominated Joshi for the top job in the PAC, it should use its influence on him to ensure that the JPC does the larger probe in the 2G spectrum allocation issue, which is being dubbed by the Opposition as the biggest scam in independent India, the leader said.
The first meeting of the JPC had witnessed members raising the issue of the PAC encroaching on the jurisdiction of the JPC and wanted its Chairman P C Chacko to take up the matter with the Speaker.
The statement of the Congress leader came a day after the PAC summoned corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and Tata Group Chairperson Ratan Tata on April 4 to discuss their role in the 2-G Spectrum allocation case.
The PAC will meet on April 4 and 5 to discuss the 2-G spectrum allocation case which had led to the resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja. He was later arrested and is still in custody.