As the deadlock between the government and the Opposition over constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the alleged 2-G spectrum allocation scam continued, both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Monday for the 12th consecutive day without transacting any business.
The government’s every effort till now to break the impasse has gone in vein, as unrelenting Opposition rejected all offers to broker peace. First the question Hours in both the Houses got derailed, as the Opposition persisted with their demand for the JPC probe into the alleged irregularities in spectrum allocation in 2008.
There were a few moments of peace, but these were very brief. Speaker Meira kumar asked Lok Sabha members to join her in congratulating Indian sportspersons for their best ever performance at the Asian Games in China. But as soon as she finished reading out her felicitation for the Indian medal winners, Opposition MPs trooped to the well and started shouting — “We want JPC”. The Speaker then adjourned the house till 12 noon.
When the House resumed the sloganeering continued, which led deputy speaker Karia Munda to adjourn the House for the day.
The scenes were no different in the Rajya Sabha, which was also adjourned in a few minutes after it was convened for the day. Chairman Hamid Ansari first adjourned the Rajya Sabha till noon and then for the day, as there was no order in the House.
Meanwhile, main Opposition BJP once again turned down the government’s renewed appeal to give up its demand for the JPC, saying its position was based on “logical and justifiable reasons”. “We are sticking to our demand for a JPC. Our demand is based on logical and justifiable reasons. PAC has a lot of work other than the CAG report on 2-G Spectrum allocation.