Taking up serious business, the Lok Sabha started debate on the customary motion of thanks to the President’s address immediately after the question hour. The debate is scheduled to end on Wednesday after which Prime Minister Dr Manmohan would reply on February 24 (Thursday) after question hour. On the same day, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal will move a motion setting up a JPC on 2G Spectrum.
The debate on this subject is expected to last for about four to five hours on Friday, Economic Survey Report, a pre-requisite for the presentation of Annual budget would be tabled followed by Railway budget.
Earlier, making a statement on JPC, Dr Singh said he was committed to root out corruption and has acted expeditiously and transparently in this direction.
A CBI investigation into the allocation of 2 G Spectrum is being supervised by the Supreme Court. “Our government believed that as all effective steps were being taken, we might have been able to persuade the opposition to insist on a JPC. We could not succeed in spite of our best efforts”, PM said adding that in a functioning democracy we must strive to resolve our differences in a spirit of accommodation, collaboration and not confrontation. Prime minister hoped that it would renew confidence in India’s forward march.
“I am, therefore, requesting the speaker to proceed with the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee” he said adding a formal motion in this regard will be moved soon.
The Congress has expressed hope that with the announcement on setting up of a JPC on 2G spectrum issue, the opposition will play a positive role in the smooth functioning of the budget session.
Talking to media here, Party spokesperson, Mrs Jayanthi Natarajan said that the proceedings in both the Houses of Parliament could not run smoothly during the last winter session due to the opposition demand for a JPC on the issue.
Meanwhile corruption, black money and inflation dominated the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament. While the ruling Congress hailed the steps taken by the government to deal with corruption, the main opposition BJP launched a scathing attack doubting its intention in tackling the menace.
In Lok Sabha P.C. Chacko of the Congress who initiated the debate said the Prime Minister’s announcement on setting up of a JPC to look into the 2G scam showed his sincerity and commitment in dealing with the controversial issue. He said, the government had taken tough action against those involved in various scams. He added that the party also acted tough against its members even when the charges of corruption are yet to be proved.
In Rajya Sabha Janardhan Dwivedi of the Congress, who initiated the debate said that government was according top priority to get rid of corruption and the President’s address had dealt with it extensively.
However BJP’s Rajnath Singh charged the government with adopting delaying tactics in handling corruption and said the credibility of the government had come under cloud as it was hit by one scam after other. He demanded a white paper on Indian’s having black money in foreign banks and said the government must reveal the names of those having these accounts.
Arun Jaitley the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha charged the UPA government that it lacks competence in governance and has leadership deficit in dealing with corruption. He also alleged that corruption had derailed the government programmes in different sectors.