Speaker to hold all-party meeting on JPC standoff

In yet another attempt to break the deadlock over the demand for JPC on 2G spectrum issue, a concerned Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has called an all-party meeting in New Delhi on December 30 and 31.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Narayasamy said in Chennai that the meeting was aimed at sorting out the issue regarding the stalling of Parlimament with the just concluded winter session seeing the longest shut down.

Earlier, Parliament sources said that the Speaker was keen on resolving the deadlock at the earliest and could call a meeting of leaders before the New Year sets in Saturday.

The budget session of Parliament is expected to start in the third week of February and the opposition leaders have threatened to stall the proceedings if the Joint Parliamentary Committee demand was not met.

The meeting could provide an opportunity to both parties who have taken a "hard stance" on the issue and the Speaker could play the role of facilitator to break the ice, the sources said.

Kumar had recently made a fresh appeal to political parties to find a solution to the impasse over the Opposition demand for JPC on the 2G spectrum issue which washed off the entire winter session of Parliament.

"Dialogue is the only way to get a solution," she had recently, adding "this has commenced and I hope a positive result will come soon...."

While the Opposition stalled Parliament during the winter session over its demand for a JPC, the ruling United Progressive Alliance has also remained adamant on not going for a JPC.

"The present situation is in everybody's mind. Democracy means to bring about a mid-path and solve problems," Kumar had said while expressing hope that the imbroglio would be resolved soon.

The Speaker had earlier held a meeting with leaders to end the impasse but it proved futile. The Bharatiya Janata Party and other opposition parties insist that Public Accounts Committee does not have the powers to fully investigate the 2G spectrum scam and a JPC should be constituted.

Two all-party meetings had been called by the government to end the impasse but failed to end the deadlock.