Dec. 22: The government on Wednesday offered to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss setting up of a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G scam. The BJP-led Opposition, which had paralysed the Winter Session of Parliament on the issue, continued to remain firm on its demand for a JPC probe.
The offer to convene the special session came after NDA leaders on Wednesday afternoon sought the resignation of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, for his “failure to constitute a JPC on the 2G scam”. There are apprehensions that the Opposition might resume stalling the functioning of both Houses during the Budget Session in February next year.
However, the Union finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, who offered the convening of a special session, said that it could be held only if the Opposition was willing to debate whether or not to set up a JPC.
However, as the Opposition huffed and puffed over the issue during the NDA rally on Wednesday and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Arun Jaitley, demanded that the Prime Minister “must quit if you cannot face a JPC”, the finance minister said: “The Opposition should discuss the issue on the floor of Parliament and not destroy the institution itself.”
Mr Mukherjee’s offer of a special session came after he was asked to comment on the BJP chief, Mr Nitin Gadkari’s observation that the saffron outfit was willing to cooperate with the government in the Budget Session “only if it (the government) set up a JPC”.