Short of majority,Congress may invoke rules at JPC meet

According to Rule 261,8221;All questions at any sitting of a committee shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and voting.8221; Rule 262,would work to the Congresss advantage. It says,8221;In the case of an equality of votes on any matter,the Chairman or the person acting as such,shall have a second or casting vote.8221; The chairman can vote twice,once as a member and a second time as chairman in case of a tie. If Chacko invokes Rule 262,the Congress and its allies,backed by two members belonging to the BSP and one to the SP,can shoot down any move to topple the chairman or to turn down the report he prepared.

The Congress stand in the wake of the PAC report on the 2G spectrum scam was that the majority view would prevail. With this view,the party,with the assistance of its allies and supporting parties,had rejected the report circulated by chairman Murli Manohar Joshi. Chacko articulated the view on Tuesday that the fate of a JPC report couldnt be decided through numbers. However,he may still manage to foil the Oppositions design,by invoking the rules,of course.