Despite not getting requisite support from allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday kept up protests stalling proceedings of Parliament. However, there were indications that majority of party MPs were not in favour of the idea floated by a section of the party to tender enmass resignations to force fresh elections.
Though the logjam in Parliament continued on Thursday, sources within the BJP have indicated that next week, there might be an end to the continued adjournments being witnessed this whole week. The BJP, however, was adamant on its demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister and an all-party meet called by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari remained inconclusive. In the meeting, both the Congress and the BJP refused to budge from their stated positions.
NDA leaders, however, held a meeting chaired by L K Advani and it is learnt that consensus in the meeting was to continue with the demand of the prime minister's resignation. NDA leaders had also skipped a meeting called by Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar to find a way out of the current standstill in Parliament.
Outside it, the BJP kept up the pressure on its demand that the prime minister should depose before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) in the 2G scam and defended its action of walking out of the meeting on Wednesday.
The BJP alleged that the message from the government is to indulge in corruption and cover it up. 'The game plan of the government is very clear, they want to scuttle the whole process. They had insisted on calling the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the former Defence Minister George Fernandes as witnesses and they had behaved in a brazen manner which is not acceptable to us,' said BJP leader and JPC member Yashwant Sinha.
Justifying its demand to call the prime minister, the BJP leader said that only the prime minister can clarify why the policies formulated by the Cabinet on 31 October, 2003 for Unified Licence was not followed up and why he allowed A Raja to have his way. Sinha said the government had stated in an affidavit in court in the 2G spectrum case that the Prime Minister was kept informed by Raja at each step about the developments in the spectrum allocations.
On the question of Chidambaram being called by the JPC, Sinha said that Chidambaram has to clarify why he abandoned the position taken by his ministry and him with regard to revision of entry fee and accepting all recommendations of Raja in a meeting with the PM on July 4, 2008.
Finding further faults with the JPC's functioning, the BJP said it has examined only 22 witnesses in 44 sittings since March, 2011 whereas PAC has examined 22 witnesses in 18 sittings over only eight months in the 2G spectrum case.
Sinha informed that both Jaswant Singh and him were willing to be examined by the JPC and it could call all the former ministers of the NDA regime and the Principal Secretary of the former Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. 'We have no fear of appearing before the JPC,' said the BJP leader.
HOUSE GROUSE
Though the logjam in Parliament continued on Thursday, sources within the BJP have indicated that next week, there might be an end to the continued adjournments being witnessed this whole week. The BJP, however, was adamant on its demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister and an all-party meet called by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari remained inconclusive. In the meeting, both the Congress and the BJP refused to budge from their stated positions.
NDA leaders, however, held a meeting chaired by L K Advani and it is learnt that consensus in the meeting was to continue with the demand of the prime minister's resignation. NDA leaders had also skipped a meeting called by Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar to find a way out of the current standstill in Parliament.
Outside it, the BJP kept up the pressure on its demand that the prime minister should depose before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) in the 2G scam and defended its action of walking out of the meeting on Wednesday.
The BJP alleged that the message from the government is to indulge in corruption and cover it up. 'The game plan of the government is very clear, they want to scuttle the whole process. They had insisted on calling the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the former Defence Minister George Fernandes as witnesses and they had behaved in a brazen manner which is not acceptable to us,' said BJP leader and JPC member Yashwant Sinha.
Justifying its demand to call the prime minister, the BJP leader said that only the prime minister can clarify why the policies formulated by the Cabinet on 31 October, 2003 for Unified Licence was not followed up and why he allowed A Raja to have his way. Sinha said the government had stated in an affidavit in court in the 2G spectrum case that the Prime Minister was kept informed by Raja at each step about the developments in the spectrum allocations.
On the question of Chidambaram being called by the JPC, Sinha said that Chidambaram has to clarify why he abandoned the position taken by his ministry and him with regard to revision of entry fee and accepting all recommendations of Raja in a meeting with the PM on July 4, 2008.
Finding further faults with the JPC's functioning, the BJP said it has examined only 22 witnesses in 44 sittings since March, 2011 whereas PAC has examined 22 witnesses in 18 sittings over only eight months in the 2G spectrum case.
Sinha informed that both Jaswant Singh and him were willing to be examined by the JPC and it could call all the former ministers of the NDA regime and the Principal Secretary of the former Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. 'We have no fear of appearing before the JPC,' said the BJP leader.
HOUSE GROUSE
- The logjam in Parliament continued on Thursday as Cong and BJP stuck to stands
- BJP is likely to continue with the demand of the prime minister’s resignation
- The party said only PM can clarify why policies formulated by Cabinet on 31 October 2003 were not followed up on
- BJP also said the JPC has examined only 22 witnesses in 44 sittings since March 2011