2G scam: BJP to stall House over JPC report
22 April 2013 1:14 AM GMT
The principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is going to lodge a strong protest in Parliament, which will resume the Budget session after a month-long recess, against attempt to ‘malign’ the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the twin issues of 2G spectrum and the coal block allocation probe. An indication to this effect was given by the BJP president Rajnath Singh on Sunday, who alleged that Congress-led UPA government was levelling contentions against Vajpayee, ‘in a bid to save its face and fool the people.’
‘I want to tell my friends in Congress that we can tolerate anything, but any attempt to malign his (Vajpayee’s) name will not be acceptable and BJP will give a fitting reply. We won’t keep quiet. They should not think that such allegations are part of politics,’ Singh said, adding, ‘we will protest democratically against the government.’
Indications of a fiery session was also evident at the all-party meetings convened by the Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari that were attended by the senior leaders of the parties to ensure smooth functioning of the House. Speaking at the meeting, leader of the opposition in the Upper House Arun Jaitley said the House will run on the ‘sense of responsibility of the members.’
On the issue of automatic suspension of unruly members, Jaitley said it could lead to a situation wherein, the minority becomes the majority. He added the government could use the situation to get the contentious bills passed, the sources said.
The draft report of the JPC, which was leaked to the media a few days back, while putting the blame on the BJP-led NDA government, concludes that the NDA government had to forego revenue to the tune of Rs 42,080.34 crore, while offering ‘migration package’ to cellular operators. This has been countered by the BJP saying the Congress was trying to subvert the truth, with Jaitley questioning the clean chit given by the JPC to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
‘If the JPC finds that they were innocent, all I can tell you is this: the 2G (JPC) report will meet the same fate as the Bofors JPC. Its credibility will probably be worse than earlier JPCs,’ Arun Jaitley had said earlier. The report has also tried to include the names of senior BJP leaders Jaswant Singh and Arun Shourie in the leaked draft. There is move already afoot to stall the passage of the draft report in the committee itself.
Accusing the JPC chairman of not maintaining impartiality, the BJP leaders have raised questions on why former telecom minister A Raja, who is the main accused, was not called for deposition before the committee.
‘I want to tell my friends in Congress that we can tolerate anything, but any attempt to malign his (Vajpayee’s) name will not be acceptable and BJP will give a fitting reply. We won’t keep quiet. They should not think that such allegations are part of politics,’ Singh said, adding, ‘we will protest democratically against the government.’
Indications of a fiery session was also evident at the all-party meetings convened by the Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari that were attended by the senior leaders of the parties to ensure smooth functioning of the House. Speaking at the meeting, leader of the opposition in the Upper House Arun Jaitley said the House will run on the ‘sense of responsibility of the members.’
On the issue of automatic suspension of unruly members, Jaitley said it could lead to a situation wherein, the minority becomes the majority. He added the government could use the situation to get the contentious bills passed, the sources said.
The draft report of the JPC, which was leaked to the media a few days back, while putting the blame on the BJP-led NDA government, concludes that the NDA government had to forego revenue to the tune of Rs 42,080.34 crore, while offering ‘migration package’ to cellular operators. This has been countered by the BJP saying the Congress was trying to subvert the truth, with Jaitley questioning the clean chit given by the JPC to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
‘If the JPC finds that they were innocent, all I can tell you is this: the 2G (JPC) report will meet the same fate as the Bofors JPC. Its credibility will probably be worse than earlier JPCs,’ Arun Jaitley had said earlier. The report has also tried to include the names of senior BJP leaders Jaswant Singh and Arun Shourie in the leaked draft. There is move already afoot to stall the passage of the draft report in the committee itself.
Accusing the JPC chairman of not maintaining impartiality, the BJP leaders have raised questions on why former telecom minister A Raja, who is the main accused, was not called for deposition before the committee.
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