NEW DELHI: The stalemate in Parliament over the Opposition’s demand for a JPC probe into the 2G-Raja spectrum scam continued with no solution in sight. But the corruption heat seemed to singe the BJP no less. Citing its inaction in Karnataka, the Left on Tuesday lashed out at the saffron party’s ‘double standards’.
In the free-for-all inside both the Houses of Parliament, which ran for a short while without transacting any substantive business eighth day running, members from the treasury benches competed with those in the Opposition with ‘sack Yeddyurappa’ and ‘sack Bellary Reddys’ placards.
Although not quite abandoning the Opposition unity, CPM MP Brinda Karat said, “While we are completely one on the issue of action on the 2G spectrum, the double standard of the BJP as far as Karnataka is concerned is really striking. It has not immediately sought the resignation of its Karnataka Chief Minister and it does raise a very fundamental question.”
The Congress spokespersons -- Jayanti Natarajan and Shakeel Ahmed -- responding on similar lines, too accused the BJP of ‘double-standards’. They targeted the BJP’s central leadership for giving ‘one impression to the people at large and another to its Chief Minister (Yeddyurappa), who clearly denied that he was asked to resign’. “The BJP leadership is either unwilling or unable to take responsibility for the Chief Minister’s actions of illegally transferring prime government land to his family members,” Jayanti said.
However, the Congress on-record muscle flexing over the BJP’s ‘inaction’ on Yeddyurappa’s or its refusal to give in to the JPC-demand could not quite cover up the growing discomfort among its rank and file.
Expressing serious concern over the continuing stalemate in Parliament, a group of MPs from a southern state said, “What should have been the DMK’s headache has now become the Congress party’s prime concern. What are we going to tell the people.”
It seems, the Congress leadership dropped the idea of adjourning Parliament sine die after its MPs protested on the ground that it would be very difficult for them to explain the situation, back in their constituencies.