With no end to the stalemate over the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam in sight, the Congress on Sunday decided to persuade the opposition not to be stubborn and let the house function.
There are indications that the party is watching with interest the Karnataka developments to take on the BJP over the issue of corruption.
The Congress core committee took stock of the emerging situation after the prime minister’s office submitted the affidavit over the delay in response to Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy’s complaint over the 2G spectrum allocations.
It was chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Though there was no official word about the deliberations at the meeting, it has emerged that senior party leader and union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee would make another attempt to speak to the opposition leaders.
“After the prime minister’s office filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, and prime minister Manmohan Singh publicly spoke about punishing anyone found guilty, the opposition should be willing to discuss the matter in Parliament,’’ said a senior party functionary.
It appears that the Congress leadership is wary of the twists and turns that would emerge should a JPC start probing the 2G scam.
It has also emerged that in the event of any climb down on the demand for the JPC, the government would insist that it should not be limited to just the spectrum allocation during the UPA regime, but should cover the entire gamut of things in the telecom sector going back to 1995, when the auction route was given up first in favour of the revenue sharing model.
Meanwhile, with the BJP leadership in a bind over replacing
Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, the Congress is watching the developments with keen interest. Yeddyurappa is facing land scam charges but seems defiant on quitting. A section of the party is also behind him. The Congress could use the party’s dilemma to attack the BJP on the issue of probity in public life.
Meanwhile, in a slight modification of its stance, the CPM observed that it was not questioning the prime minister’s integrity. "We are just questioning your infallibility. If you have made a mistake in 2G spectrum allocation admit it,” said CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury.
