Pranab wants apology from Oppn for destroying Parliament

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today demanded an apology from the Opposition, accusing it of "destroying" Parliament after they rejected his offer of a special session to discuss the JPC issue on 2G scam.

"In the entire winter session, they (Opposition) did not allow any opportunity for any discussion on any issue....They have created deadlock in Parliament. They have destroyed the institution. They should apologise to the nation," Mukherjee told reporters here.

The angry reaction of the Finance Minister came after the Opposition rejected the offer he made last night in a fresh bid to break the deadlock in Parliament that resulted in the washout of the entire Winter Session.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj earlier said, "We don't want a debate on JPC. We want JPC" while dismissing Mukherjee's offer.

Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said, "The special session for discussion has no meaning as it (discussion) has already taken place in 2009. Discussing ths issue is not going to serve any purpose. We insist on JPC and not any discussion. For the government, time is now to act."

The reaction of the Left was no different with CPI's D Raja finding "nothing new" in Mukherjee's offer.

He recalled that Mukherjee had earlier also made a similar suggestion to discuss the issue and it was rejected by the Opposition.

"I think JPC is very reasonable demand. Opposition is not demanding anything which should not be demanded. The parliamentary rules and procedures allow such a mechanism. If the Prime Minister is willing to appear before PAC, then what is the problem in JPC?," he said.

Raja at the same time said that his party has so far not received any communication from the government for a special session and will discuss it with other Left parties once it happens.