Govt acted only after SC move: BJP

The BJP described the situation in the country to be extraordinary because of the recent scams resulting in people losing its faith in Constitutional bodies while justifying its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G scam.

The BJP described the situation in the country to be extraordinary because of the recent scams resulting in people losing its faith in Constitutional bodies while justifying its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G scam.

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Speaking on motion to set up JPC, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj accused the government of acting on 2G scam only after the Supreme Court took cognizance of the issue and directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct an inquiry under its supervision.

Swaraj also accused the government of undermining other Constitutional bodies like the committee to appoint the Central Vigilance Commissioner resulting in an embarrassment to the government and the Comptroller and Auditor General for giving Rs 1,76,000 crore figure for 2G scam.

“The Supreme Court will become more assertive if we fail to be responsible,” she said.

She like other opposition leaders Sharad Yadav of JD (U) and CPIM leader Basudeb Acharyna blamed the government for losing the winter session, as it was adamant on having constituting a JPC but praised Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee for his big heart.

But, she was critical of Mujerkee for dubbing the opposition as "Maoists" for demanding the JPC, on which Mukerjee explained that he was referring a situation that can arise if the Parliament is not allowed to run incessantly. “It was like the ideology of the Left radicals who dub Parliament as an "abode of pigs",” he said.

"Was our demand (for JPC) violent or unconstitutional," Swaraj sought to know from Mukherjee.

Demand of other opposition leaders Yadav and Lalu Prasad of RJD to expand the scope of JPC to include scams involving Commonwealth Games, Antrix deal with Devas and Radia tapes was not accepted by the government.

They also wanted that the JPC should also examine the role of investigating agencies in probing corruption cases. “The JPC should be able to bring the truth out and should not become a political battle field,” Prasad said.