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The controversial 2G spectrum issue is likely to come up in Parliament on February 22 so that a discussion on it, preceding the possible acceptance of a JPC probe, can be agreed to before any other business is taken up, according to Congress sources. The presentation of the Economic Survey is scheduled for February 24, the Railway budget for February 25 and the general budget for February 28.
Though there has been no “official” announcement on the government agreeing to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who presided over Tuesday's meeting with the Opposition leaders, will have to run it past Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi before getting back to the Opposition ahead of the opening of the session on February 21, the sources said.
This could come up at a meeting of the Core Group of the Congress, usually held at the week-end — its other members are Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Home Minister P. Chidambaram. A key player in the current talks with the Opposition is Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who spoke with the Left parties ahead of Tuesday's meeting.
Meanwhile, there is consternation in the party, with many feeling that if a JPC had to be accepted, it should have been done at the outset. A party leader said, “Now it would look as though we are doing it under pressure. Had we accepted it at the outset, we need not have sacked and arrested A. Raja (former Telecom Minister) but allowed action against him to emerge from the JPC. We also need not have antagonised the Comptroller and Auditor-General, whose reports have been rubbished by the party.”
Indeed, on Wednesday, many in the Congress expressed their disquiet at what they described as a lack of “political management” in the party. These sources pointed out that there were many Congressmen — including some in the Union Cabinet — who had been saying even during the winter session that the JPC plea should be accepted. But when the Opposition began to say the Prime Minister would have to appear before the JPC, Congress leaders themselves said that demand was unacceptable. Eventually, it was left to the Prime Minister to clear the air at the party's plenary session at Burari in December, when he declared that he had no objection to appearing before a parliamentary committee – i.e. the Public Accounts Committee, which is scrutinising the CAG report on the 2G scam.
The government is clearly leaving no stone unturned to appease the Opposition. On Wednesday, sources said, Cabinet Secretary K. M. Chandrasekhar submitted his recommendations on the Shunglu panel's first report to the Prime Minister within the stipulated week. The sources added that action was likely to follow soon on the basis of the Shunglu report, which indicted the suspended Prasar Bharati CEO, B S Lalli, and the Doordarshan Director-General, Aruna Sharma, on the Commonwealth Games broadcast deal.
Though there has been no “official” announcement on the government agreeing to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who presided over Tuesday's meeting with the Opposition leaders, will have to run it past Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi before getting back to the Opposition ahead of the opening of the session on February 21, the sources said.
This could come up at a meeting of the Core Group of the Congress, usually held at the week-end — its other members are Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Home Minister P. Chidambaram. A key player in the current talks with the Opposition is Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who spoke with the Left parties ahead of Tuesday's meeting.
Meanwhile, there is consternation in the party, with many feeling that if a JPC had to be accepted, it should have been done at the outset. A party leader said, “Now it would look as though we are doing it under pressure. Had we accepted it at the outset, we need not have sacked and arrested A. Raja (former Telecom Minister) but allowed action against him to emerge from the JPC. We also need not have antagonised the Comptroller and Auditor-General, whose reports have been rubbished by the party.”
Indeed, on Wednesday, many in the Congress expressed their disquiet at what they described as a lack of “political management” in the party. These sources pointed out that there were many Congressmen — including some in the Union Cabinet — who had been saying even during the winter session that the JPC plea should be accepted. But when the Opposition began to say the Prime Minister would have to appear before the JPC, Congress leaders themselves said that demand was unacceptable. Eventually, it was left to the Prime Minister to clear the air at the party's plenary session at Burari in December, when he declared that he had no objection to appearing before a parliamentary committee – i.e. the Public Accounts Committee, which is scrutinising the CAG report on the 2G scam.
The government is clearly leaving no stone unturned to appease the Opposition. On Wednesday, sources said, Cabinet Secretary K. M. Chandrasekhar submitted his recommendations on the Shunglu panel's first report to the Prime Minister within the stipulated week. The sources added that action was likely to follow soon on the basis of the Shunglu report, which indicted the suspended Prasar Bharati CEO, B S Lalli, and the Doordarshan Director-General, Aruna Sharma, on the Commonwealth Games broadcast deal.