NDA sticks to JPC demand; no plans for no-confidence motion

As Parliament remained deadlocked for the 15th working day, NDA today declared that there was no going back on the issue of demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the 2G spectrum scam.

It, however, indicated that it has no plans to bring a no-confidence motion against the government on the issue.

"2G scam is a multi-dimensional scam, undermining democracy itself... Business houses talking of composition of the government... In view of this nature... For a thorough probe and to bring all guilty to book, nothing short of a JPC can do justice to the task," senior BJP leader L K Advani said.

Addressing a press conference along with leaders of opposition Sushma Swaraj (Lok Sabha) and Arun Jaitley (Rajya Sabha) as also leaders of Shiv Sena and Akali Dal, he said that the government has not been able to convince anyone in the opposition why a JPC was not needed.

Accusing the government of provoking it to bring a no-confidence motion when only year has passed since the Lok Sabha polls, he suggested that such a course of action was not planned, noting that "every MP wants to serve the full term".

Besides, he said, he was for a fixed term for legislatures in the country and have also met the Prime Minister and Leader of the Lok Sabha in this regard.

Alleging that the UPA government was "indifferent" to the problem of corruption, Advani claimed that if the allegation was likely to reach "high levels of political office... The government becomes absolutely adamant".

"The government cannot seriously expect the opposition to accept that the CBI and the CVC are the appropriate institutions which are capable of an honest investigation into the monumental 2G spectrum allocation scam", he said.