Kolkata, Dec 24 (IANS) Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar Friday appealed to all parties to come together and sit for discussion to prevent any recurrence of the logjam witnessed in the winter session of parliament over the 2G spectrum scam.
‘All the warring parties should come together and sit for discussion,’ said Meira Kumar when asked about the way out of the imbroglio in parliament on the opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G scam and the government’s refusal to give in.
‘So far, as the JPC is concerned, the views are divided. There is one view of the opposition and one view of the ruling party. As the speaker, I cannot really express a view on this,’ Meira Kumar told reporters.
‘I cannot be seen as aligned with one side. So let them decide between themselves,’ she said, replying to a question on the JPC issue.
On union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s offer of a special session to discuss the need for a JPC probe, she said: ‘What is going be the final take on it, I am still not aware. Whatever is the final decision, it will be done.’
Parliament was adjourned sine die Dec 13, ending the most unproductive month-long winter session that saw only seven of the 138 hours of business conducted.
The logjam led to a loss of Rs.7.8 crore a day to the national exchequer, which translates into Rs.1.3 crore per hour as each sitting is of six hours each day. That means nearly Rs.172 crore (Rs.1.72 billion) of the Indian tax payer’s money was wasted, according to official assessment.
