With the functioning of Parliament remaining hit for the 10th successive working day, the government on Thursday literally threw up its hands, stating it did not know how to end the deadlock.
With the Opposition remaining steadfast in its demand that a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) be formed to probe the 2G spectrum allocation and the government rejecting it, the stalemate continues.
Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Thursday, first till noon and on reassembly, for the day, as noisy scenes marked the proceedings.
The government's inability to find a way out of the stand-off came when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told journalists, “I have not been able to find a solution. I do not know how to resolve this impasse. We are trying. Let us see.”
In the last two weeks, Mr. Mukherjee held two rounds of meetings with Opposition leaders to find a meeting ground.
While not yielding to the Opposition demand, the government suggested that the Public Accounts Committee, which will scrutinise the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report on 2G, could be assisted by multi-disciplinary agencies such as the CBI, the Income-Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate. This offer was cast off by the Opposition immediately.
Reports of an early adjournment of Parliament ahead of it scheduled date was denied by the government.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal ruled out an early end to the winter session, asserting that the government favoured functioning of both the Houses till December 13 as planned.
On her part, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar sought an end to the impasse. She said the House should be allowed to function and discuss issues. “It is my earnest appeal to end the impasse and allow the Houses to function and discuss the issues in Parliament,” she said when asked about the possibility of resolving the deadlock.
In a related move, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Rajya Sabha leader Sitaram Yechury met Mr. Mukherjee on Thursday and sought to reason out with the Minister on the Opposition demand.
