The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation to carry out probe in the 2G spectrum scam from 2001-08, which includes part of the National Democratic Alliance tenure, but insisted that only a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe could bring out the whole truth.
The winter session of Parliament was practically lost in pandemonium on Friday over the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum issue, with the penultimate day also being paralysed due the unrelenting attitude of both the government and the opposition.The logjam over the demand for JPC probe stalled both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for the 21st consecutive working day and both the Houses had to be adjourned till Monday.
While there are divergent views within the ruling Congress party on the anarchy and chaos within the government and Parliament, the two predominant views are: why is the government not agreeing to the opposition demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe (into the 2G spectrum scam), and the second the stalemate has reached such proportion that some leaders are even talking that if there is no JPC, the country may well be headed towards a mid-term poll which nobody wants
The opposition demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum allocations has led to the longest shutdown of Parliament in independent India, the government on Wednesday claimed.
With the Parliament stalled for the 18th consecutive day on Tuesday over the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee into the 2G spectrum scam, the Congress core committee met yet again on Tuesday evening to take stock of the situation both inside and outside Parliament.
"The Bhartiya Janata Party wants to use the Joint Parliamentary Committee as the political tool. It's the issue of ego. It's a political demand so the Congress is not agreeing to it," says Janardhan Dwivedi, chairman of media cell of the Congress, while talking exclusively to rediff.com about why Congress is not agreeing to a JPC to look into allegations related to the allotment of 2G spectrum.
A meeting of United Progressive Alliance allies scheduled for Monday night, in the wake of persisting Opposition demand for a joint parliamentary committee into 2G spectrum allocation, was postponed at the last moment. The meeting convened by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is now expected to be held in a day or two. It had to be postponed as a number of leaders of allies were not in Delhi. The issue has paralysed Parliament.
Angry BJP and other opposition members stormed the well disrupting proceedings for the 17th working day to press for a JPC to go into allocation of radio-waves -- a demand consistently rejected by government.
Hitting back at the Bharatiya Janata Party for demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum allocation, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said it had no right to speak on the issue as the Tehelka sting operation had earlier exposed its party president taking a bribe on camera. "People should not forget what we have seen in the earlier regime, what happened in Tehelka. How the president of a national party was found taking money," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation by the Congress led-United Progressive Alliance government.
With the deadlock in Parliament continuing, Members of Parliament from non-National Democratic Alliance opposition parties on Friday approached President Pratibha Patil urging her to "advise" the government to accept the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G Spectrum scam.
United Progressive Alliance allies on Monday expressed full support to the government over its refusal to agree to a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam, an issue that has paralysed Parliament proceedings for the last 12 working days. Against the backdrop of some UPA constituents appearing not being averse to the JPC probe, the government on Monday held a luncheon meeting of its allies to devise a common strategy.
The Congress top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, are meeting in Delhi on Thursday to hold a strategy session in the backdrop of an united Opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam. The meeting of the Congress Core Group is being held amid a deadlock over the issue in the Winter Session of Parliament, which started last week.
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.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday sought to bring the curtain down on the turf war between the Public Accounts Committee and the Joint Parliamentary Committee, asking the two bodies to work in close cooperation and harmony with each other.
Chairman of Public Accounts Committee Murli Manohar Joshi on Tuesday said that there was no conflict or clash between the Joint Parliamentary Committee and the panel headed by him and both can function within their own domain to probe irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation. He said that the JPC was supposed to work under specific terms of reference and conditions and did not have the right to summon the prime minister or any minister but PAC was a constitutional body.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are expected to meet on Friday evening in the backdrop of opposition demand for a probe by a joint parliamentary committee into the Indian Premier League controversy.
The meeting would finalise the Committee's roadmap, including witnesses to be called and documents to be sought.
The government has announced the formation of a joint parliamentary committee to probe the Rs 176,000 crore 2G scam. The JPC will comprise 20 members from Lok Sabha and ten members from Rajya Sabha.
Chidambaram said he feels that Dassault 'is laughing all the way to the bank', as the NDA government gave a 'gift'.
On a day when the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the 2G scam was set up, the Public Accounts Committee Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi said his panel has every authority to ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to appear before it.
The Shiv Sena has turned down ally Bharatiya Janata Party's offer of a seat in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G Spectrum scam as a multi-national company owned by one of its Rajya Sabha members is allegedly a beneficiary of the contract, sources said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam along with those of Commonwealth Games projects and Adarsh Housing society are neither correct nor timely, Communist Party of India said on Saturday.
Congress MP from Andhra Pradesh V Kishore Chandra Deo is tipped to head the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 2G spectrum scam, according to highly placed sources in the Congress party.
Instead of linking MPs' salary to the cost of living index, it should be anchored to the growth rate so long as India boasts the world's second-highest growth, feels Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Communist Party of India - Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday stated that the Left parties would not compromise on the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam.The CPI-M leader underlined the urgent need for an alternative economic policy as the people were reeling under scorching prices for the 'wrong policies adopted by the United Progressive Alliance'.
The 2G spectrum scam may have caused a colossal loss to the national exchequer, but the standoff between the government and opposition over it has resulted in the further wastage of over Rs 146 crore as the entire Winter Session of the Parliament was virtually washed out.
Anguished over the stalemate in Parliament over demand of Joint Parliamentary Committee into 2G Spectrum scam, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday said she would "do anything" to ensure that it does not spill over to the budget session.
The Opposition and government may be slugging it out over the losses caused to the national exchequer due to the 2G spectrum allocation but their stand-off has resulted in wastage of over Rs 95 crore on account of Parliament not functioning for the last 15 days.
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.
The final report was to be submitted in March but it got an extension till the second week of the monsoon session that began September 14.
Fifty BJP MPs on Tuesday tabled a breach of privilege notice in Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for announcing outside Parliament his decision to reject setting up of a joint parliamentary committee on the issue of alleged phone tapping.
Government on Friday did not rule out setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe into the Indian Premier League controversy with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying a decision would be taken after 'due diligence.'
A day after Shashi Tharoor's exit from the Union Cabinet, the Left parties on Monday demanded that the Indian Premier League be banned and constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the source of funds.
But the government rejected their demand and instead promised to hold an internal inquiry.
With Air India in dire straits, a demand was made on Wednesday by a Bharatiya Janata Party member in Lok Sabha for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the workings of the national carrier, which has incurred Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) losses.
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".
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. He said Home Minister P Chidambaram had explained the phone-tapping allegations in Parliament.
Shah said that the people of the country will decide about the principal opposition party to BJP in the 2024 polls and they have not given this label to any party.
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