The Government has decided to hold a meeting with all political leaders today to end the deadlock over the opposition demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into 2G spectrum and other scams. The leader of Lok Sabha, Pranab Mukherjee has invited leaders from more than two dozen parties including the BJP and the Left for a luncheon meeting.Rejecting the opposition demand for JPC probe, Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee said that the CAG report will go to the Public Account Committee (PAC) after it is tabled in the Parliament.Echoing similar sentiments, Home Minister, P. Chidambaram said that the demand for the JPC is meaningless as the CAG report will go PAC headed by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi. The BJP, however, said that it will not cooperate with the government in the running of Parliament unless its demand for a JPC probe into 2G spectrum, Commonwealth Games and Adarsh Housing Society scams is accepted. Justifying its demand, party spokesman S.S. Ahluwalia told reporters in New Delhi that the Public Accounts Committee only does the postmortem of the CAG report and does not probe. On the other hand, Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari while backing the government stand on rejecting the demand for JPC said that opposition should allow Parliament to function.
News On AIR | November 16, 2010 2:12 PM
Pranab Mukherjee seeks consultation to end 2G spectrum impasse; An all party meet to discuss the issue today