PM announces telecom JPC, Opposition exults

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally announced what the country had known for weeks — that a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to scrutinise the 2G telecom spectrum scam would be set up, under the overall direction of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar. “Our country can ill-afford a situation where Parliament is paralysed and important legislative business is not allowed to be considered,” the PM said.

He listed what his government had done: a Supreme Court-supervised Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the allocation of spectrum, full government cooperation to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament; the report of an independent inquiry committee under the chairmanship of ex-judge Shivraj Patil, and quick action by the telecom ministry. The PM said this should have been enough but as the opposition was insisting on a JPC, the government had bowed to the spirit of democracy.

Having got its way, the Bharatiya Janata Party revelled in political victory. Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said there could be no victory or defeat in a democracy: the beauty of democracy was that a way could be found out of the most complex situation. “We bow to the wisdom of democracy and convey our gratitude to the government and the PM for having acceded to our request,” she said.

Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta was less diplomatic: “The government has only done its duty. Parliament cannot be run on the basis of a confrontationist attitude, either from this side or from that side,” he said. Mixing his metaphors somewhat, he said, “It is better to be late than never.”

But that was the extent of the BJP’s politeness. In the Rajya Sabha, the government was given no latitude, as leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley went at the government – and the PM – hammer and tongs. Speaking on the motion of thanks to the President’s Address, Jaitley said: “The Home Minister has confessed at Davos that there is a governance deficit in India. I can today clearly see a trust deficit not only between the nation and the government but also between the leadership of the Congress party and the Prime Minister’s office. You have an integrity deficit, a leadership deficit and, finally, a competence deficit. India certainly deserves better.”