This Article is From Dec 08, 2010

Raids not enough, still want JPC: Opposition

New Delhi: On a day when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided former Telecom Minister A Raja's residences, the Opposition heat over the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scam shut Parliament for the 19th working day.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned without transacting any significant business with the government and the Opposition sticking to their respective stands on the JPC, which has become the bone of contention between rival sides.

It was trouble from the word go when both the Houses assembled for the day as Opposition members stormed the well vociferously demanding "We want JPC".

They were countered by ruling Congress members who displayed placards "Don't denigrate PAC" and raised slogans like "We want PAC."

Unwilling to end the logjam till a JPC is ordered, some members said it was because of Opposition pressure that the raids were taking place.

"If the Parliament had not closed then this would not have been possible. Due to the pressure in the Parliament, the government is trying hard to fix the problem and mostly it will be done once the JPC is done. There is too much corruption in the country. JPC should be made and the problems should be debated," said JDU leader Sharad Yadav.

Suggesting that this should have been done long time back, CPM leader Gurudas Dasgupta said, "People who are guilty should be arrested immediately and sent to Tihar. The case of criminal misappropriation must be started immediately. Conducting raids will not help now and moreover this is also being done really late and due to that they got a chance to hide a lot of things. They should be treated as class three prisoners in the jail."

The stand-off over the JPC has ensured that the entire Winter Session of Parliament passed without any work -daily protests by the Opposition have led to both Houses being adjourned. Several all-party meetings called by the government to find a compromise have failed.

The Opposition says that the Supreme Court's repeated criticism of the slow pace of the CBI's inquiry proves that the agency is coached by the government, which is dependent on the DMK's support. A JPC, however, is unacceptable to the government because elections in several key states including Tamil Nadu are due next year, and the Opposition could use the JPC to target the government for corruption. There are also fears that the BJP would use the JPC's powers to summon the Prime Minister and embarrass the government ahead of the elections.
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