Another Pranab initiative on 2G logjam today; likely to be futile
08 Feb 2011
With the crucial budget session of Parliament just two weeks away, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has called yet another all-party meeting in Delhi today to break the 2G logjam.
The move comes after three rounds of talks held by Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar on Monday to build consensus proved futile.
However with both government and the opposition sticking to their stands on the formation of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the spectrum allocation scandal, the latest round of diplomacy by the chief troubleshooter of the Congress is likely to be as fruitless as the previous ones.
While there was no official word about any new proposal from the government to end the stalemate and 'save' the budget session, Mukherjee, on Monday again questioned the logic behind the opposition's demand for a JPC.
The recent arrest of former telecom minister A Raja and the findings of the Shivraj Patil committee have only reinforced the opposition's demand for a JPC probe.
The standoff had washed out virtually the entire winter session in what is regarded as the longest shutdown of Parliament. The Congress-led UPA does not want a repeat of that – so clearly, the only challenge for Mukherjee today will be to present a proposal acceptable to the opposition.
