Opposition parties on Thursday rejected government’s fresh offer for a special Parliament session to debate their demand for JPC on 2G spectrum scam even as finance minister Pranab Mukherjee accused them of “destroying” Parliament and demanded an apology.
The prolonged war of attrition between the two sides on the JPC issue showed no signs of abating with the main Opposition party saying it was time for government to act, insisting they do not want a debate and that they will settle for nothing less than a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
“We do not want any debate. We want an inquiry. The government should form a JPC to probe it (2G scam),” Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said in Jammu.
The BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said, “The special session for discussion has no meaning as it (discussion) has already taken place in 2009. Discussing this issue is not going to serve any purpose. We insist on JPC and not any discussion. For the government, time is now to act.”
The BJP leaders are in Jammu for the party’s National Office Bearers meeting.
An angry Mr Mukherjee, who made a fresh offer on Wednesday night for a special session of Parliament in a bid to break the stalemate, accused the Opposition of “destroying” Parliament.
“In the entire winter session, they (Opposition) did not allow any opportunity for any discussion on any issue ... They have created deadlock in Parliament. They have destroyed the institution. They should apologise to the nation,” Mr Mukherjee, who is also the Leader of the House, told reporters in New Delhi.
The reaction of the Left was on the same lines as of BJP with CPI’s D Raja finding “nothing new” in Mr Mukherjee’s offer. —PTI