UPA allies join chorus for Parliamentary probe

The Congress-led government's stonewalling of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum allocation and other alleged scams is beginning to look counterproductive, with even the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), its two key coalition partners, joining the chorus for forming a JPC.

Pranab Mukherjee's lunch diplomacy once again failed on Monday – far from securing a consensus, it saw T R Baalu from the DMK and Sudeep Bandhopadhyaya from Trinamool openly demanding a JPC probe, particularly on the allocation of 2G licences.

This was Mukherjee's second failure – a similar attempt a week or so ago saw the opposition united in enjoying the finance minister's hospitality while remaining adamant on blocking Parliament over their JPC demand (See: Pranab Mukherjee's lunch diplomacy fails to soften opposition).

The UPA government is facing the roughest weather it has come across in its regime, with a number of apparent scams being unearthed by the media and the Supreme Court not helping its cause.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's report on 2G spectrum allocation alleging irregularities; the Supreme Court questioning the prime minister's office over the delay in granting permission to prosecute former telecom minister A Raja and expressing doubts on the appointment of P J Thomas as chief vigilance commissioner; the 'Adarsh' housing scandal in Mumbai; and the UPA's imminent loss of Bihar to the NDA, all suggest that the Congress might be well advised to be less adamant in avoiding a JPC.

Trinamool's Bandhopadhyaya suggested as much when he told the media after the lunch, ''This kind of a stalemate is not good for Parliament. If forming the JPC can help break the deadlock, the government should accept it.''