Cong core group meets ahead of union budget

Ahead of the presentation of the union budget, top Congress leaders today held parleys with party President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Ahead of the presentation of the union budget, top Congress leaders today held parleys with party President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

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This is the first Congress Core Group meeting after the decision to constitute a JPC there by ending the deadlock between the government and the opposition that had washed out Parliamentary business in the entire winter session.

After giving in to the opposition's demand on JPC to probe 2G spectrum scam, the party has argued though such a panel will not serve any additional purpose, it agreed to JPC to save only the budget session as Parliament from being washed out.

The union budget will be presented on February 28 and the government is likely to announce new sops for the common man and the lower middle class at a time when it is facing the heat of corruption.