The government is delaying conveying its decision to the Opposition on its demand for setting up of a joint parliamentary committee to investigate the 2G spectrum allocation scandal — which has virtually paralysed the functioning of Parliament and thus put the Centre in the dock since the start of the Winter Session 10 days ago.

The corruption issue refuses to die down even after the resignation of telecom minister A. Raja on the 2G spectrum allocation issue.
While the Opposition increased pressure on the Centre for a joint parliamentary committee probe, the government rejected it outright. The issue rocked proceedings in both Houses of Parliament on Monday.

The DMK’s A. Raja finally stepped down as Union communications and information technology minister on Sunday night after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi stepped up pressure on him and ally DMK for his resignation.

The Congress is mounting pressure on DMK chief M. Karunanidhi to agree to drop controversial Union telecom minister A. Raja from the Union Cabinet on the 2G spectrum allocation issue. The controversy has united the Opposition and isolated the DMK at the Centre.

The DMK, one of the key constituents of the Congress-led coalition at the Centre, appears to be getting isolated in the UPA on the 2G spectrum allocation issue and the role of Union telecom minister A. Raja in it.

Barring the late V.P. Naik, no Maharashtra chief minister has remained in office for a full term since 1960. The state had a one-party rule till 1995 with an exception of the Progressive Democratic Front government headed by Mr Sharad Pawar between July 1978 and February 1980.

The Congress party on Tuesday sought to counter the “corruption plank” of the Opposition by forcing Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan to resign and axing Suresh Kalmadi as secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party against the backdrop of allegations of financial irregularities in the recent Delhi Commonwealth Games.

The Winter Session of Parliament could be hot for the government with the Opposition roaring to raise the issue of corruption in a big way. The session will begin on November 9.

The Congress on Tuesday indicated that Indira Gandhi’s old “garibi hatao” slogan was back at the centre of its agenda after party general secretary Rahul Gandhi conceded in an unscheduled speech at the one-day AICC session that “two Hindustans” existed even after economic reforms. Top party leaders, including Prime

Maharashtra’s beleaguered chief minister Ashok Chavan is said to be dragging in the names of senior Congress-NCP leaders into the controversial Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai to save his positi