Cong flip-flop on JPC voting

Ruling party has floated the idea of bringing a resolution in Parliament entailing voting to settle the issue.

Betraying confusion in the Congress over how to break the deadlock in Parliament given the Oppositions unrelenting demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scam,the ruling party on Friday floated the idea of bringing a resolution in Parliament entailing voting to settle the issue.

Shortly after discussing the idea at a press briefing though,Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan disowned it,claiming she never spoke of any such resolution.

I had only said that Pranab Mukherjee had stated that he was ready for a debate on this CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation in Parliament. I never said anything about any resolution, she said.

This came shortly after she created a flutter in political circles stating at the routine party briefing,We are open to discussing such a resolution in Parliament on the JPC issue. She added that if such a resolution is brought,it should be voted upon,even as she maintained that it did not mean that the party has softened its stand on the JPC issue.

At the press conference,she also denied that the Congress was making a suggestion for the resolution,saying that this idea was already in the public domain.

Natarajans statement came ahead of a February 8 meeting of the Opposition parties with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to discuss ways to break the deadlock in Parliament.

CPM leader in the Lok Sabha Basudeb Acharia,in his reaction,said,We will definitely vote for the JPC but whoever is saying that there should be a debate and voting does not want JPC because they have a majority in the Lok Sabha.

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Asked whether the Left will vote along with the BJP if such a resolution is brought in Parliament,he said,What is wrong with it? We made the demand for the JPC,so did the BJP.

SP leader in Rajya Sabha Mohan Singh said,If it is put to vote,we will vote in support of the JPC. But it is unprecedented.

Congress sources said that although the issue of allowing such a resolution in the Lok Sabha to break the stalemate had been discussed as one of the options at internal party meetings,there was no final decision.