The government on Thursday virtually dared the Opposition parties to move a no-confidence motion against it if they are not satisfied with its offer of a Public Accounts Committee examination of the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation.
The government’s reply to the Opposition demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe was a firm “No”. It also ruled out adjourning the Parliament session sine die.
Leader of the Lok Sabha and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said efforts were being made to end the impasse. “I have not been able to find a solution. I do not know how to resolve this impasse. We are trying. Let us see,” Mr Mukherjee told reporters here.
Government managers are confident that the supporting parties, like the BSP, Samajwadi Party and RJD, would have no option but to back the Centre in the event of an Opposition no-confidence motion this session because nobody is ready to face a mid-term general election.
The issue is expected to be discussed at a Congress core committee meeting on Friday. Mr Mukherjee has had two rounds of meetings with floor leaders but this has not broken the ice. The Opposition is expected to be more aggressive on this issue after the rout of the Congress in the Bihar Assembly polls, and the Left and AIADMK are expected to exploit this issue against the DMK and the Trinamul Congress in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively. Both states will witness Assembly elections early next year.
Meanwhile, responding to a question on what the government would do if the Opposition moved a no-confidence motion, parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said, “If such a thing happens, we cannot stop it. But the Opposition will get a beating. The government is in power till it has a majority. People will also understand that it is the Opposition that is not allowing the House to function,” he said.
At a meeting Thursday morning between leaders of political parties and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, Mr Bansal asserted that the government would not agree to a JPC probe and that the Opposition would have to settle for a PAC examination of the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation, sources said.
BJP leader S.S. Ahluwalia argued that the PAC could not summon a minister and that this could only be done by a JPC. At this, Mr Bansal said if the Opposition had no faith in the government and PAC examining the 2G issue, it could move a “no-confidence motion”.
Later, speaking to reporters, Mr Bansal said the government had firmly rejected the demand for a JPC. “Today I told the Opposition that if that is your objective (summoning the PM and ministers), that is not acceptable. If you have the courage and conviction, come and discuss the issue in the House,” he said. Mr Bansal ruled out an early end to the Winter Session of Parliament, asserting that the government was in favour of functioning of both Houses till December 13, as originally planned. “The government will make efforts till December 13 to ensure that the House runs,” he said and drew attention to how during NDA rule the then government did not accept a demand for a JPC probe into the Tehelka expose and coffin scam. “Vajpayeeji (then Prime Minister) had said the issue can be discussed in the House and there was no JPC,” he said.
Mr Mukherjee, after a meeting with CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on the deadlock, told reporters efforts were being made to end the impasse. During the meeting, Mr Yechury asked Mr Mukherjee why the government was refusing to set up a JPC and pointed out that the Congress, too, had forced repeated adjournments of Parliament in the wake of the Tehelka expose during the NDA government.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, meanwhile, appealed to all parties to end the stalemate. “It is my earnest appeal to end the impasse and allow the Houses to function and discuss the issues in Parliament,” Ms Kumar said.
Like the previous days, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha could not transact any substantive business because of the pandemonium created by Opposition parties pressing their demand for a JPC. Members of parties like the Samajwadi Party, BJP, Shiv Sena, AIADMK and TDP trooped into the Wells of both Houses and vociferously demanded a JPC probe. Congress members hit back by showing placards and demanding action against Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, and against the BJD government in Orissa over the Vedanta mining project.
Parliament has been unable to transact its business since November 10.