Washout of winter session ‘criminal’, says Bansal

NEW DELHI - Calling the washout of parliament’s winter session “criminal”, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prawan Kumar Bansal Monday warned of a constitutional crisis if the opposition stalled the coming budget session too.

The opposition will be responsible for any such crisis, Bansal said, blaming an obdurate opposition for the paralysis of three weeks of winter session over its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum controversy.

Asked if the government proposed to take any initiative to break the logjam ahead of the budget session, Bansal told reporters: “The government will not mind doing anything but so far nothing has been planned.”

He said the government’s decision not to concede to the opposition demand for a JPC probe into the spectrum issue was based on just reasons”.

Never before in the history of Indian parliament has a complete session been washed out without transacting any business. This is violative of all rules of business and ethics. It’s rather criminal. Even question hour and private members’ business have been made a casualty.

Bansal said a JPC would have had members from only seven of 37 parties in parliament and it would be sharply divided on political lines given the stand taken by opposition parties.

JPC is ill-equipped to investigate into any matter. In fact, it is not an investigating body, he said.

He said the real intention of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was betrayed by its leaders’ claim that a JPC can also examine circumstances under which a particular portfolio was given to a particular party and to a particular individual”.

This clearly shows that the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) only wishes to keep the matter alive by raising extraneous issues.

The winter session, which began Nov 9, ended Monday with barely any business conducted. The opposition stalled proceedings daily to push its demand for a JPC, which the government has rejected.