Proceedings in Parliament were washed out for the second consecutive working on Tuesday as Opposition members created pandemonium on a host of issues including JPC report on 2G, Telangana, price rise and death of children in relief camps for Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) riot victims.
Leaking of official secrets of military operations is treason and those involved in it must be punished, the Congress said on Wednesday on the purported WhatsApp chats of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and demanded that the prime minister must come clean.
Sources in the JPC said that panel Chairman P C Chacko is set to tell Raja that instead of appearing before JPC as a witness, he can submit a "rebuttal note" on the statement made by Attorney General G E Vahanvati before the Committee that the controversial press note regarding 2G licences was changed at the last minute by the former telecom minister in 2008 with a different pen.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has given a notice for moving a breach of privilege motion in both Houses of Parliament against Joint Parliamentary Committee Chairperson P C Chacko for leakage of the panel's report on the 2G spectrum allocation issue.
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for a joint parliamentary probe into the Spectrum deal which according to BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar is "the mother of all scams" and has favoured a few individuals to the tune of several thousand crores by resorting to underwriting the amount involved in the deal.
With the government moving a resolution in the Lok Sabha to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 2G spectrum issue, the battle lines between the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party have become more tightly drawn with the Congress preparing its ammunition to target the BJP during its National Democratic Alliance government, in a bid to expose the actions of their telecom ministers.
The Congress on Monday distanced itself from party member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadi's move seeking a Joint Parliamentaey Committee probe into the Commonwealth Games issue, saying it was his independent view and the party has nothing to do with it.
Is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once again trying to derail the process of setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee, for which hectic efforts have been made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee having had a number of meetings with opposition leaders?
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday tabled its report in the Lok Sabha on pesticide residues and safety standards for soft drinks, fruit juices and other beverages.
The 2010 winter session is set to go down in the history of the Parliament as one and the first one which did not deliberate even a minute. It is likely to be adjourned sine die.
Parliament was shut down for the 11th day running on Thursday without transacting any substantive business, costing the taxpayer a staggering sum of Rs 85.80 crore as expenditure on each day of the session is calculated at Rs 7.8 crore.
An all-party meeting on Tuesday failed to break the stalemate in Parliament over the demand for a joint parliamentary committee into 2G spectrum scam, leaving no immediate signs for return of normalcy in both Houses that have remained paralysed for four days.
Deputy leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party in Rajya Sabha, S S Ahluwalia made it clear during his interaction with mediapersons on Saturday that his party would settle for nothing less than a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe in the 2G telecom scam.
Both Houses have been witnessing a ruckus over the Rafale fighter jet deal and Cauvery river issue, among other matters.
Amid controversy over the finance ministry's note to the Prime Minister's office (PMO) on awarding licences for 2G spectrum in 2008, a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) is holding a two-day meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Defending the walkout of its members from the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday alleged that the "brazen" manner in which the Congress leaders behaved showed the government had a "game plan" to scuttle the panel's probe into the 2G spectrum scam.
The government on Tuesday assured the Rajya Sabha that officials found guilty by the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which looked into the stock scam and the temporary freeze on Unit Trust of India's flagship scheme 64 will not be spared.\n\n\n\n
The two Houses would now meet on December 27 as there would be no sitting on December 24 and December 26 in view of Christmas.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourned without transacting any significant business with the government and the opposition sticking to their respective stands on the JPC, which has become the bone of contention between rival sides.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee has found not a "single file or record" to show any culpability of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G spectrum allocation, its chairman P C Chacko said justifying the clean chit to them in the draft report.
Apparently seeking to pacify an angry BJP, Joint Parliamentary Committee chief P C Chacko on Tuesday dismissed reports that the panel has named former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in its draft report in the 2G scam.
Responding to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's rejection of the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand -- that he appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee in connection to the 2G spectrum allocation case -- the opposition on Wednesday said if the PM had nothing to hide, he should not shy away from the panel.
Politics is going to get even more sharply polarised in the weeks and months to come. And the 2G scam is not going to die down so easily, says Neerja Chowdhury
The lower house has been witnessing daily disruptions since the winter session began last week. It had passed a bill on transgender rights on Monday.
Corporate lobbyist Nira Radia appeared in no mood to co-operate with the Public Accounts Committee when she appeared before them for questioning on the 2G scam on Monday morning as her answers were 'evasive' and 'clever,' preferring to use the non-descript phrase, "I do not remember" in reply to most of the questions.
'My belief that I could protect the Himalayas was shattered.'
The all-party meet called by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to resolve the deadlock in the Parliament ahead of the Budget session ended inconclusively on Tuesday with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Opposition sticking to their demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G scam.
The Communist Party of India - Marxist may support the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the allegations of corruption against former telecom minister A Raja."We are of the view the government must agree to the Opposition's demand for holding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the telecom scam. If that cannot be done, than the govt must come up with an alternative mechanism to unearth the truth," said a CPM leader.
The director of the Centre for Science and Environment, Sunita Narayan on Friday told the joint parliamentary committee probing the cola row that pesticide level in water for soft drinks in India was high
The DDCA issue is likely to create ruckus in Parliament on Monday with parties looking to target Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as he is "practically the number two in the government".
The Joint Parliamentary Committee has squarely blamed the finance ministry and the Securities and Exchange Board of India for last year's multi-crore securities scam.
Rejecting the Opposition demand for a JPC probe into demat share scam, the Government Tuesday said SEBI was examining the matter and strictest possible action would be taken against those involved in the irregularities.
Rejecting Opposition demand for removal of P C Chacko as Joint Parliamentary Committee chairman, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Thursday asked the panel chief and members to work out an agreeable solution to end the current "impasse" on its report on 2G Spectrum.
Tharoor put the blame for the logjam in Parliament on BJP and accused the saffron party of reducing the "temple of democracy to a rubber stamp for its agenda or worse, a notice board to announce its unilateral decisions".
Joint parliamentary committee Chairman P C Chacko on Tuesday said the committee, probing the 2G telecom spectrum allocation scam, has called all important witnesses but is yet to take a decision on calling former Telecom Minister A Raja before it.
Firmly backing DMK leader A Raja, prime accused in the 2G scam, in the wake of the controversy over filling of vacancy in the Joint Parliamentary Committee, the party today asserted it will not allow him to be made a "scapegoat".
Gandhi used a purported audio clip to allege that Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is 'blackmailing' Modi.
Amid a stalemate between the government and the Opposition over the issue, the House failed to transact any significant business and was adjourned for the day.
'The Modi government has been taking credit for improvement in respect of the ease of doing business in India.' 'But when I look at the scams I cannot help feeling that it is too easy to do business with banks in India, if one is a Harshad Mehta, Vijay Mallya or Nirav Modi and their tribe,' says former Union home secretary Madhav Godbole.
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