THE time and place chosen by the Mamnmohan Singh government to reject the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the IPL muddle and phone tapping allegations are quite interesting.

Instead of making a formal statement on the floor of the Lok Sabha, Dr Singh conveyed the decision to journalists at the investiture ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. And the Union Home Minister, Mr P Chidambaram did the job in Parliament: He categorically denied that any telephone tapping or eavesdropping on political leaders was authorised by the previous UPA government or the present one. But his statement has only complicated the issue. How could any agency without being empowered by the government indulge in such action? This is a case of serious impropriety. This acquires greater significance as the persons whose phones were tapped are top political functionaries: Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, CPI-M General Secretary, Mr Prakash Karat and Congress leader Mr Digvijay Singh. This has not happened for the first time. In 1985 too similar tapping had taken place. The need for having a JPC probe is more imperative in the background of Mr Chidambram’s assertion that nothing has been found in the records of the NTRO (National Technical Research Organisation) to substantiate the allegations. The government should steer clear of the controversy and this can be done only by a JPC probe. This action of the government would only add to the moral strength of the government. The government can also think of enacting a law, as suggested by veteran BJP leader Mr L K Advani to prohibit interception of telephonic conversations of citizens, except to deal with crime, subversion and espionage.