Jan. 11: Uncertainties grip the forthcoming Budget Session as the Opposition led by the BJP appears to be in no mood to relent over its demand for a JPC probe in the 2G scam.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and BJP’s master strategist, Mr Arun Jaitley, made it categorically clear that there would be no compromise on the JPC issue. “We will insist on a JPC,” Mr Jaitley said while the Lok Sabha Speaker, Ms Meira Kumar, on Monday signalled that she would like to make a fresh attempt to break the deadlock in Parliament.
Taking the battle straight to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s turf, Mr Jaitley said that the “Prime Minister has come out very poorly in the entire 2G scam issue.” Also for him, the controversial appointment of the CVC “hangs like an albatross round the PM’s neck”.
Indicating that there has not been “any serious attempt” by the government to break the logjam, Mr Jaitley, however, also made it clear that the party would weigh the pros and cons and take into account all aspects before finalising its strategy for the forthcoming Budget Session.
“We want a JPC. We’ll insist on it. But beyond that I am not going to say anything at the moment,” he made himself clear. However, that Mr Jaitley and his brigade has no intention of making things easy for the government or consider the financial loss in stalling parliamentary proceedings, became somewhat evident when he said: “The loss in stalling Parliament is minuscule comparing to the magnitude of loss in the 2G scam.”
The master strategist felt that the BJP’s move to “obstruct Parliament had an appropriate reaction among people”.