Logjam day 10: Oppn sticks to JPC,govt says no solution

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal categorically rejected the Opposition demand for the establishment of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the 2-G Spectrum allocation scam. The government does not accept the demand for a JPC because it is purely a political demand, he said.

Bansal said,Today,I told the Opposition that if your objective is to summon the Prime Minister and some ministers,that is not acceptable. He said if the Opposition had the courage and conviction about what it was saying,it could come and discuss the issue in both Houses.

Bansal reminded the BJP that during the NDA rule,the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government did not accede to the demand for JPC to probe the Tehelka expose. He said: Vajpayee-ji said the issue can be discussed in Parliament,but there was no JPC.

When asked about the government response if the Opposition came out with a no-confidence motion,the minister said,They will fail. The government is in power till it has majority. He said the government will allow the session to run its scheduled course,till December 13.

People will also understand that it is the Opposition that is not allowing Parliament to function, he said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar appealed to all parties to resolve the issue. It is my earnest appeal to end the impasse and allow the Houses to function and discuss issues in Parliament, she said.

Sources in the BJP indicated that there was no going back on the demand for a JPC probe. More so,

when even the SC ticked off the CBI for not questioning

A Raja and the Telecom Secretary.

They felt the continuing resistance of the government to the Opposition demand would convince the people that the government was wary of a thorough parliamentary probe.

CPM Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury met Pranab Mukherjee to reiterate the Opposition demand for a JPC.