TIA correspondent
NEW DELHI: The All Party meeting held here to end the 13-day standoff in parliament failed to achieve any solution to break the impasse. Both the government and the Opposition were adamant on their stand over the JPC probe into the 2G Spectrum scam.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who convened the meeting however, said that she is not disappointed and efforts will continue to break the logjam.
While rejecting the demand for JPC probe, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that there is a need to work towards strengthening the level of trust between the government and the opposition. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, after the meeting Bansal said the government will not accept the demand for the JPC as it is politically motivated and not intended to come to the bottom of the issue. He also ruled out adjourning both the houses sine die before the scheduled date. On the other hand, the opposition parties rejected the offer of a multi-disciplinary agency along with the Public Accounts Committee to look into the 2G spectrum issue.
The Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party have been vociferous in demanding the JPC in Parliament but were not part of the non-Congress, non-National Democratic Alliance (the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP-led coalition) opposition that gave a two-page memorandum to the president to exercise her influence on the government to accept the JPC demand.
Even the Biju Janata Dal , which was neutral so far, was part of the delegation meeting the President.
Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj, who along with the BJP’s LK Advani attended the meeting, told reporters that the entire Opposition was unanimous in demanding the JPC. She said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had offered that a multi-disciplinary agency that includes the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other agencies be attached to the Public Accounts Committee to probe the 2G case, but the offer never materialised.
Questioning the government’s latest offer to let the Supreme Court monitor the CBI’s 2G probe, the Opposition said that it is wholly the Supreme Court’s call to do so and not the decision of the government.
The opposition was also not satisfied with the suggestion of monitoring of the CBI inquiry into the 2G spectrum by Supreme Court. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj made it clear that they will not accept anything less than a JPC probe.
Earlier in the day, over 78 MPs belonging to ten non-BJP and Non-UPA parties presented a memorandum to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and requested her to use her influence over the government to accept the demand for the JPC Probe.