By IANS,
New Delhi : The winter session of parliament beginning Tuesday is expected to be stormy with the opposition deciding to pin the government down on the issue of corruption by raising the controversies over Mumbai’s Adarsh housing society, the Commonwealth Games and 2G spectrum allocation.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have already indicated that corruption will be the key issue during the session. The opposition parties are also likely to press for immediate resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan as his name figured in the controversy relating to the housing scam in Mumbai.
While a meeting of the BJP parliamentary party is expected Tuesday, Left parties will also meet before the start of the session to chalk out their strategy and decide the issues to be taken up.
The BJP has accused the government of silence on each of the scandals.
“There is very clear silence on the part of the government on each of the scandals. There is the absence of any action. We will raise scandals and scams during UPA-II (United Progressive Alliance-II), including those related to the Adarsh housing society and the Commonwealth Games,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
She said the party will press for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the allegations of corruption and irregularities in the Games as the documents showed that the Prime Minister’s Office had sanctioned hiked outlays for works related to the event.
Sithraman said that a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report indicted the telecom ministry on the handling of 2G spectrum allocation and the party will raise the issue during the session.
The BJP has also decided to raise the issue of foodgrain rotting in government warehouses.
CPI-M leader Basudeb Acharia said that corruption will be the main issue during the session. He said the party will also raise the issue of price rise.
Acharia said the party had already demanded a JPC probe into the Games imbroglio in the last session and the party will also raise the issue of 2G spectrum allocation and the Adarsh housing society controversy.
The Congress is expected to expose fissures in the opposition unity by raising the issue of alleged involvement of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members in the 2007 Ajmer blast, which killed three people and injured 30.
The party has already rebutted the opposition charge about maintaining silence on allegations of corruption surrounding the Games and has pointed to the investigations under way at various levels into the sporting event’s projects and the Adarsh housing scam.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal expressed the government’s readiness for a discussion on any issue permitted by the rules and allowed by the chair.
Official sources said legislations that would be part of the official agenda include the women’s reservation bill and the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill.
They said the government will make efforts to mollify its ally and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee over the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill as it does not want to delay its introduction.