House fate uncertain, NDA to take call today

NEW DELHI: Having tasted blood, the Opposition is likely to persist with its demand for a JPC probe on corruption issues and demand former telecom minister A Raja’s prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

With A Raja submitting his resignation late on Sunday evening, it is not clear whether the government-Opposition face-off over corruption would subside. As things stand now, the Opposition is likely to come hard on the UPA government on other issues like the Adarsh housing scam and CWG. Meanwhile , the NDA has decided to have a meeting on Monday morning to finalise its strategy in Parliament.

Reacting to the development, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “The inquiry into the 2G scam should be taken to its logical conclusion. Our demand for a JPC probe into all the corruption cases stays.”

Earlier in the day, parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had reached out to the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, to find a way out of the deadlock. He had informed the BJP leader that the government was prepared to fix a date for a debate in the House on the corruption issues and that a senior minister could make a statement.

However, Ms Swaraj stuck to her party’s stand that Mr A Raja should first be sacked in the wake of the 2G spectrum controversy.

Parliament remains paralysed since Wednesday, with the entire Opposition training its guns at the treasury benches over corruption issues — 2G spectrum, Adarsh housing scam and CWG.

The main Opposition party has already brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in its line of fire, saying he should clarify Mr Raja’s claim that all decisions on 2G spectrum were taken in consultation with him.