The battle between the government and the Opposition on the setting up of a joint parliamentary committee on the 2G spectrum allocation scam is likely to intensify further with the Opposition on Sunday rejecting outright all government suggestions on other ways to break the impasse in Parliament.

It now transpires that while the CPI(M) has been shouting itself hoarse over the Nira Radia tapes, demanding an investigation into “crony capitalism” and the “politician-bureaucrat-media nexus”, its own government in West Bengal had been dealing with Ms Radia’s public relations and lobbying outfit Vaishnavi Corporate Communi-cations.

India’s delay in confirming its participation at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, when the jailed Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo will be honoured in absentia, has confused and confounded some and made others anxious.

The Supreme Court has sought entire text of the two press releases issued by the department of telecom on January 10, 2008 to examine the alleged “mala fide” intention of former telecom minister A. Raja making drastic change in the ‘first come first serve’ policy on allocation of the 2G spectrum licenses to some “favoured” companies.

Amidst the stalemate in Parliament over the issue of setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into alleged 2-G spectrum allocation scam, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Sunday accused the government of lacking political will to combat corruption. He also reminded the government of its poll promise of bringing back the black money stashed away in Swiss banks and asked the Centre to ratify the UN convention against corruption.

The CPI has sought the intervention of the Union home ministry alleging that its party cadres and supporters are being “harassed, tortured, brutally assaulted and arrested” by the Chhattisgarh police and CRPF who are branding them as “Maoists’’. The CPI on Sunday demanded the home ministry to “question the Chhattisgarh government’s role in targeting the party and arresting its elected leaders and cadres.”

The government has said that foreign intelligence agencies are making constant efforts to set up bases in the country.
“Government is aware of the efforts being made by foreign intelligence agencies to operate in India,” minister of state for home Ajay Maken said. “Government is constantly monitoring activities of the hostile agencies to subvert individuals and create agents of influence in different institutions both in the public and private domain and has been taking action to neutralise the same wherever necessary,” Mr Maken told Parliament.

Corruption issue which has damaged the credibility of two national parties and some of their allies, could dominate a three-day AICC plenary session to be held in Delhi the third week of December.

Delhi Assembly’s deputy speaker got a taste of the poor law and order situation in the city when thieves made away with his recently-purchased car from outside his son’s residence in east Delhi on Sunday.

Four persons, including three firemen, were injured when a portion of a building which was engulfed by flames on Sunday evening, collapsed near the crowded Chawri Bazar market in Old Delhi.