BJP: Won’t relent on JPC demand

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Uncertainties grip the forthcoming Budget Session as the Opposition led by the BJP appears to be in no mood to relent over its demand for a JPC probe in the 2G scam. Speaking exclusively to this newspaper, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and BJP’s master strategist, Mr Arun Jaitley, made it categorically clear that there

would be no compromise on the JPC issue. “We will insist on a JPC,” Mr Jaitley said while Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Monday signalled that she would like to make a fresh attempt to break the deadlock in Parliament.
Taking the battle straight to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s turf, Mr Jaitley said that the “Prime Minister has come out very poorly in the entire 2G scam issue.” Also for him, the controversial appointment of the CVC “hangs like an albatross round the PM’s neck”.
Indicating that there has not been “any serious attempt” by the government to break the logjam, Mr Jaitley, however, also made it clear that the party would weigh the pros and cons and take into account all aspects before finalising its strategy for the forthcoming Budget Session. “We want a JPC. We’ll insist on it. But beyond that I am not going to say anything at the moment,” he made himself clear.
However, that Mr Jaitley and his brigade has no intention of making things easy for the government or consider the financial loss in stalling parliamentary proceedings, became somewhat evident when he said: “The loss in stalling Parliament is minuscule comparing to the magnitude of loss in the 2G scam.” The master strategist felt that the BJP’s move to “obstruct Parliament had an appropriate reaction among people”.
Claiming that the Congress-led UPA has failed to move ahead on the Kashmir issue, Mr Jaitley apprehended that the government might be “moving in a reverse direction — returning to the 1953 scenario in the Valley, which eventually would invoke a hostile reaction among people across the nation.”
The BJP, which has been taking a high moral ground on the issue of corruption, was on the backfoot when its own chief minister in Karnataka, Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa, was accused in the land scam. While the saffron brigade blasted the government on the corruption issue, it failed to take any action against Mr Yeddyurappa, who virtually blackmailed the party into silence. When asked, Mr Jaitley put up a stout defence. “There was an attempt to create a perception against us in the national media over the Karnataka issue. It did not have any impact among people. Also, let’s be clear that there has not been any findings on the issue by any authority,” Mr Jaitley argued. However, he also said that the party “would move cautiously over the issue”. He did not agree to reports that despite the electoral losses, corruption and price rise, the Congress continued to have an advantage on the leadership front as compared to the BJP. Mr Jaitley, who himself stands a chance of taking a shot at the top post, felt that in a “merit-based leadership, there are multiple choices.” He added: “In a dynastic rule, there is only a single option. This does not mean that people will go for dynastic rule.”
Mr Jaitley gave the example of the Bihar Assembly polls, where the electorate voted for Nitish Kumar rejecting Lalu Prasad Yadav and his dynasty.
That the BJP could continue to fire at the government on the issue of corruption, scams and price rise, became clear with Mr Jaitley saying: “Corruption has resulted in image loss for the UPA and price rise in vote loss.” For Mr Jaitley, at this juncture, there is a “general drift in governance”.