New Delhi , April 25: The alleged “tapping” of the phones of politicians as well as the ongoing IPL controversy are expected to dominate the proceedings of Parliament on Monday and later in the week. Some disruption of both the Houses cannot be ruled out.
While the Opposition parties have demanded that both the issues be investigated by joint parliamentary committees, the government has remained tightlipped. Besides the Opposition, the UPA allies even some Congress leaders appear disturbed about the phone-tapping matter. The issue has brought the BJP-led NDA and the Left bloc closer, and all sections of the Opposition have demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The BJP has also demanded that Question Hour be suspended in both Houses to take up the matter. “We will not accept anyone’s answer except the Prime Minister. This is a major scandal,” said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The government’s priority is to complete its financial business and ensure that the Finance Bill is passed by April 30. After that, the ongoing Budget Session could virtually come to an end. There is little expectation of passing the landmark Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha in this session — it does not appear to be on the government’s priority list. It might be moved in the final week of this session or in the forthcoming Monsoon Session.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said, meanwhile, that the instrument of a JPC was as “good” as a fact-finding body as all parties would be able to get the needed information to come to a conclusion on a certain issue. At the same time, he regretted it had “not been productive” regarding implementation as it is “always in the hands of others”. Parliament, he suggested, would play its “due role” if it could ensure there was “proper implementation” of JPC recommendations.
If at all a JPC is set up to probe the IPL controversy, it would be a real comedown for NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The last probe by a JPC was headed by Mr Pawar himself.
This time, however, a JPC probe is being demanded in the backdrop of demands for the resignation of Mr Pawar and his NCP colleague, minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel. Mr Pawar is a former head of the Indian cricket board during whose tenure the Indian Premier League was launched with Mr Lalit Modi as IPL commissioner.
The JPC headed by Mr Pawar was the fourth and last such probe committee set up by Parliament on August 22, 2003. Mr Pawar was then in the Opposition benches and the NDA government was in power. It was set up to probe allegations of pesticide residues in soft drinks, fruit juice and other beverages. It held 17 sittings and presented its report on February 4, 2004.
A JPC is usually constituted to investigate a serious issue which has greatly agitated the public and which involves fraud and corruption on a large scale. It is constituted on a motion moved by a minister or the Leader of the House. Such committees are set up on the basis of a consensus between the government and the Opposition, and consists of members of both Houses. The ruling party/coalition has a majority in the JPC and the chairman is usually a prominent ruling party figure.
If a JPC is set up this time, it would be the fifth such committee since Independence into alleged scams and scandals, with the first one set up to investigate the Bofors issue in 1987, headed by B. Shankaranand. It held 50
sittings in all and presented a report on April 26, 1988.
The second JPC, headed by Ram Niwas Mirdha, was formed in 1992 and went into irregularities in securities and banking transactions, which came to be known as a scam with “Big Bull” Harshad Mehta as mastermind. The committee held 96 sittings and presented its report on December 21, 1993.
Another “big bull”, Ketan Parekh, was the centre of a controversy in the stock market scam, for which a JPC was set up in 2001. The committee was headed by Lt. Gen. S.P.M. Tripathi (Retd). Issues relating to suspension of redemption from the US-64 fund by UTI was also referred to the same committee, which held a total of 105 sittings and presented its report on December 19, 2002.
Though the recommendations of the JPC, like other parliamentary committees, are only recommendatory, these are looked upon with seriousness when the government initiates action on the basis of the recommendations. A JPC, for the effective discharge of its functions, can take the assistance of the government’s investigative agencies.
Age Correspondent