New Delhi: Government on Tuesday gave further
signals about the formation of a JPC to probe the 2G scam, but
the BJP`s demand for widening its scope was rejected by the
Congress.
"You will have no problems on that score", Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal reportedly told Chief
whips of various political parties at a meeting ahead of the
Budget session when they raised the issue of JPC.
The whips apprehended that it would be difficult for
both Houses to run if the Opposition demand for the JPC is not
acceded to.
BJP upped the ante by demanding that the JPC should probe
all scandals like the CWG, the Adarsh Housing society besides
the 2G scam.
Addressing a party rally in Kolkata, senior BJP leader L
K Advani also attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying he
sympathised with him and described him as "weak".
Seeking widening of the scope of JPC, he said, "All cases
of corruption, including 2G spectrum, CWG and defence land
scam (Adarsh Housing) should be probed by it."
The BJP veteran said that a JPC probe into 2G spectrum
allocation would expose the DMK but Congress` "involvement" in
CWG and Adarsh Housing scams` would be revealed if a JPC was
formed to investigate all corruption cases.
At the AICC briefing, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari
parried questions on Advani`s demand but the unease in the
ruling party was palpable with a senior leader dubbing the
Opposition move as `shifting the goal post`.
Tewari`s refrain was that Parliament should run and
issues should be discussed on the highest forum of democracy.
"Opposition should not run away from debate. The demand
for JPC should not be used as a cover to escape debate. It
should not be a subterfuge to run away from interactions.
Running away form interactions is not a solution," Tewari
said.
A senior Congress leader speaking on condition of
anonymity, however, said that the Opposition`s habit of
"shifting the goal post" raises question mark on their
"intent" on whether they wanted to allow the House to function
or not.
The leader also disapproved of the demand for getting CWG
and Adarsh housing society also probed by JPC saying these are
not related to policy decisions unlike the 2G issue.
The formation of a JPC did not figure at the meeting of
the Union Cabinet today with the government giving enough
hints beforehand to the opposition that it has now virtually
remained a formality.
PTI
