Did BJP miscalculate on PAC meet?

Did the Bharatiya Janata Party miscalculate its strength at the Public Accounts Committee meeting on the 2G issue on Thursday?

According to Congress sources, the BJP assumed that BSP member Baliram, who had gone to Ahmedabad for medical treatment, would not make it back.

The PAC has 21 members and had Dr. Baliram been absent, those in favour of and those against the draft report would have been evenly divided at 10 each. The report could then have been approved with the casting vote of the Chairman.

“But, unfortunately for the BJP, he came back to Delhi in time for the meeting,” the sources said.

When contacted, Dr. Baliram confirmed that he had gone to Ahmedabad on April 26 for a check-up and said he was, however, able to get back to Delhi on Wednesday night.

Scotching speculation that BJP leaders had tried to persuade him to support the report, Dr. Baliram said he was approached by neither the BJP nor the Congress.

The BSP member told The Hindu : “I decided not to support the draft report as it was voluminous and hardly any time was given to study it. A cursory reading revealed that the report mentioned about a meeting which was never held.

“Obviously, the report had been prepared in a hurry and the Chairman seemed to be trying to rush it through without the members getting an opportunity to go through it.”