Meira Kumar hopes ‘Budget Session’ of Parliament will function smoothly

NEW DELHI - Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who has been stepping up efforts to break the logjam in Parliament over a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum scam, on Thursday said that she is optimistic over the smooth functioning of Parliament in the upcoming ‘Budget Session’ due early next year.

Earlier today, Kumar met leaders of the Government and the Opposition and later voiced optimism over smooth running of the budget session.

She met Leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal and his deputy V Narayansamy in yet another attempt to end the impasse which she said was a ’cause of concern’.

Speaking to the media persons after the meeting, Kumar said that Indian democracy is much matured and the leaders of both ruling and opposition parties are committed to ensure the smooth run of Parliament.

“I am fully convinced that our democracy is very mature. There might be some ups and downs, but whether they are leaders of the ruling party of the ruling coalition, or leaders of opposition, they are all very committed to ensure that the Parliament runs,” said Kumar.

No business was conducted in the winter session of parliament due to the standoff between the opposition and the government over a JPC probe into the 2G scam.

Meira Kumar further said that she is sure that the leaders will come to a positive solution.

“With this kind of commitment and with this kind of attitude, I am sure with their differing views they will be able to find a common ground and I am very optimistic that something positive will be emerging,” she added.

Earlier on Monday, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, wrote to senior BJP leader and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi saying that he is ready to appear before the panel in connection with the 2G-spectrum scam.

The Prime Minister made an unprecedented offer of appearing before the PAC at the Congress 83rd plenary meet on December 20, saying he has “nothing to hide”.

“I sincerely believe that like Caesar’s wife, the Prime Minister should be above suspicion and it is for this reason that I am prepared to appear before the PAC even though there is no precedent to that effect,” Dr. Singh had said.

Former Telecom Minister A Raja was forced to resign last month after a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum, and added that the government had probably lost Rs.1.76 lakh crore in estimated revenue. (ANI)