Prime minister Manmohan Singh may finally buckle under opposition pressure and agree to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum, CWG and Adarsh housing scams to end the stalemate in parliament, but it may take time.
Veterans told DNA that both Houses of Parliament had remained paralysed for 45 days before the government agreed for a JPC probe into the Bofors scandal.
Similarly, parliament did not function for 17 days before a JPC was constituted to investigate bribery charges against then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao in the Harshad Mehta scam.
It witnessed another 15-day logjam after Ketan Parekh’s role in rigging the share market was exposed, and the NDA regime was forced to constitute a JPC.
In the present case, parliament has witnessed disruption only for a week. The government may want to test the opposition mood for some more time. But the indictment by CAG of former telecom minister A Raja, the companies involved in the spectrum scam and the government, the Supreme Court’s stinging criticism of the prime minister’s office for its 16-month silence on allegations against Raja and several UPA allies joining the opposition in demanding a JPC may force it to change tack.
In a last-ditch effort on Tuesday, UPA’s troubleshooter and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee explained to opposition leaders at an all-party meeting the difficulties in instituting an inquiry into three scams by one JPC. But BJP did not budge and may continue to stall parliament.
Its leaders indicated that they may look into the allegations of corruption in Karnataka, which means BJP is willing to pay the price, but will not allow parliament to function unless a JPC is constituted. The BJP stand was largely because Mukherjee did not reject a JPC outright.
He told opposition leaders that he would get back to them after taking up the matter with the prime minister.
