The next meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G scam, likely to be held on Tuesday, promises to be a stormy affair with the combined Opposition likely to raise the issue of voting on JPC chairman.
The JPC chairman, however, is of the opinion that the issue of no-confidence in him has already been settled by the Speaker’s response to the 15 Opposition JPC members, who had earlier petitioned her against the chairman. He has also warned the Opposition members on the parliamentary panel with ‘expulsion’ if they go back to the theme of ‘no-confidence in the panel chairman’.
With the individual MPs away in their respective constituencies over the weekend, they said that they have been meeting regularly at the BJD office in Parliament House, and a final round of confabulations among themselves would be held on Monday. Though the 15 Opposition MPs’ demand of no-confidence in the JPC chairman has been turned down by the Speaker, the Opposition MPs are clearly undeterred.
“We could very well demand a voting on the continuance of the JPC Chairman. The Speaker’s order doesn’t prevent us from seeking a vote on the issue,” said a leading Opposition member on the panel, who’s been instrumental in rallying together 15 MPs.
Rule 261 of ‘Rules of Procedure’ stipulates that ‘all questions at any sitting of a committee shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and voting’. However, Chacko is of the opinion that the Opposition cannot keep on harping on the same theme. “If they go against the rules, and bring back the theme of no-confidence in the Chairman, they could very well be removed from the Parliamentary panel. A truncated panel will then go ahead with the draft report,” Chacko told Express.