Union Ministers Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel came in the line of fire of the Opposition which demanded their resignation in the wake of IPL controversy and constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe it,a plea government has promised to consider. Parliament business was disrupted with the Opposition leaders demanding that only a JPC probe will have credibility as there were allegations of involvement of two ministers in the controversy. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned after lunch without transacting any business with BJP members insisting on a JPC probe. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj raked up the issue saying it was getting "more serious by the day" and demanded a JPC probe to save the dignity of the House and to throw light on the issue. CPI leader in Lok Sabha described it as the "most serious fraud unparallelled in the history of independent India". He held that "unpardonable violation of law has taken place for the last two years under the nose of the government. The two ministers,who belong to NCP,an important ally of the Congress at the Centre and in Maharashtra,were targeted in both the Houses but their names were not taken. The Opposition members described the alleged financial wrongdoings in the IPL as a huge scam and wanted to know "how many more Tharoors were there". Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor was forced to resign on Sunday following allegations of misuse of power by him to get sweat equity of the value of Rs 70 crore for his friend Sunanda Pushkar. The Opposition leaders also targeted Patel in the wake of reports that his daughter Poorna allegedly pulled out an aircraft from a scheduled flight for operating a chartered flight for an IPL team. Air India,however,denied the charge. Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told reporters outside Parliament that "propriety demands that in order to ensure an impartial probe,the ministers should not be in their position. "It will be in order that those in the circle of suspicion quit so that the an impartial probe could be carried out." With ally in trouble and the government having important financial business ahead in Parliament,the Congress top brass is expected to meet in the Core Group to discuss the demand for constituting a JPC.
