Pranab tells Opposition to apologise
Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday attacked the Opposition for causing a deadlock during the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament. Mr Mukherjee sought an apology from the Opposition for “destroying” Parliament by not letting it function. The Winter Session barely functioned due to the Opposition’s demands for a JPC probe into scams, including that involving 2G spectrum allocation.
Mr Mukherjee’s comments came after the main Opposition BJP rejected his offer to end the deadlock by holding a special session of Parliament to discuss whether a JPC should be instituted on the 2G scam. While dismissing Mr Mukherjee’s offer, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said the BJP doesn’t want a debate on JPC “but the constitution of a JPC”. Union telecom minister Kapil Sibal said a similar offer (to discuss a JPC) had been made to the Opposition earlier. “In the entire Winter Session, they (the Opposition) did not allow any opportunity for any discussion on any issue. They have created a deadlock in Parliament. They have destroyed the institution. They should apologise to the nation,” said Mr Mukherjee.
The senior Congress leader said that Parliament is meant for debate and discussion. Mr Mukherjee said the government has done all that was needed to investigate how 2G spectrum was allocated in 2008. He pointed out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has himself offered to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the minister concerned (A. Raja) has resigned and investigations into the issue are being carried out by the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and income-tax department. “What else will a JPC do? What is a JPC? It is a joint parliamentary committee. A joint parliamentary committee is already looking into it and that is the PAC. Therefore, I said whether there is need for a JPC after all these steps the government has taken (sic),” said Mr Mukherjee. He said that during the Winter Session he had asked the Opposition to discuss and debate the 2G issue but they had refused his offer. “Parliament became just 30-40 people coming to the Well, raising slogans, showing placards and forcing adjournments. How can this Parliament function? They have completely destroyed an institution like Parliament. They owe an apology to the nation,” Mr Mukherjee reiterated.
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