Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday rejected the Opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into both the IPL controversy and the phone-tapping issue, on the ground that it was not needed.
"JPC for what? This is not a fit case for JPC," Dr Singh said when asked about the Opposition's demand for a JPC into the phone-tapping allegation.
Asked whether the government had rejected the demand for a JPC on the IPL issue, Dr Singh said, "I don't think there is a need for a JPC. A JPC is a very serious issue. We can't rush to such a conclusion in haste."
He said Home Minister P Chidambaram had explained the phone-tapping allegations in Parliament. "I had offered to come before Parliament after 3.30 pm if there was a sitting, but there was restlessness," he added.
Allegations of illegal telephone tapping on political leaders disrupted both Houses of Parliament today, though the government maintained that it had not authorised any such activity nor had it found any substance in them.
Dr Singh, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony at the Rastrapati Bhavan, also expressed confidence over his government surviving the cut motions on budgetary grants in Parliament. "We are as confident as possible," he said.
"Of course, we are confident," Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was also present on the occasion, said when asked about the Opposition's threat to bring cut motions against the Finance Bill.
To a query on whether the government would be talking to Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders on the cut motions, the prime minister said, "We seek the support of all right thinking people."
Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the 13-party grouping, which includes four Left parties, have threatened to move cut motions demanding rollback of the recent hike in petroleum and fertiliser prices.
On the prospects of meeting his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani in Bhutan on the sidelines of the South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation summit, Dr Singh said the leaders would come together under one roof.
"Nothing is certain. If we come together at the same time, it is inevitable you run into each other," he added.
Replying to a question on Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's views on Taliban, Dr Singh said, "President Karzai is the best judge of what is good for Afghanistan."
To another query on bringing the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha, he said his government was committed to bringing the Bill before Parliament, but the precise date will be finalised by the floor managers.
