New Delhi:
A Congress core group met at the Prime Minister's residence at 7 Race Course Road on Sunday evening.
The meeting was attended by Party President Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister AK Antony and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Sources tell NDTV, the core group discussed the Government's floor strategy in Parliament and the Opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the 2G spectrum scam. The Congress top brass also debated should a JPC, if constituted, also probe the telecom policies of the NDA regime, especially the National Telecom Policy of 1999
NDTV has learnt that Pranab Mukherjee will meet the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, on Monday morning.
"We are prepared to discuss. We have nothing to suppress or hide anything and you know the right forum is Parliament, and not just running away from the actual debate in a democracy, which should take place in a Parliamentary form," Law Minister Veerappa Moily said.
Parliament has not functioned for a single day this winter session - the Opposition says it will not allow any work to begin till the government sanctions a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the 2G scam.
(Read: Deadlock to cut Parliament session short?)The Opposition contends that a CBI inquiry already underway cannot be taken seriously because the CBI functions as an extension of the government which uses it to protect allies and settle scores with political rivals.
(Watch: Want action, not debate on 2G scam says BJP)The government has stressed that a JPC is not required because a thorough audit of the 2G allocation will be studied by the Public Accounts Committee which is headed by a leader of the Opposition, and will therefore not protect the government.
(Read: Allow Parliament to function, PM tells Opposition)Meanwhile, the CPM has made it clear that Parliament on Monday will be no different from what it has been for the past 10 days."What happened was known to the Prime Minister, the Finance Ministry, Law Ministry. Only after the CAG report, which has confirmed what was already known, Mr Raja was asked to resigned," Prakash Karat, the party's General Secretary said.
Congress sources say the Comptroller and Auditor General's report of 2000 had also slammed the policies of the NDA government. But the Government neither set up a JPC, nor did the Telecom minister resign. What seems to have worked for the Government is the developments in Karnataka. With the Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa's family charged in a land scam, the UPA is all set to embarrass the BJP for it's talk of a high moral ground.