New Delhi:
With almost one full Parliament Session lost to disruptions, the government needed to prove it is tough on corruption. And the CBI raids on former Telecom Minister A Raja and his men were steps in that direction.
But the raids failed to end the Opposition's chant for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe.
"The raids endorse what we have been saying - that only a JPC will work," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said.
The government had hoped that the raids against Raja will send the message that action is on against a member of its ally, the DMK.
"When we act the Opposition says its eyewash. When we don't, then also it complains," Law Minister Veerapa Moily said.
But the raids bring political relief for UPA partners like Trinamool who were drifting towards the Opposition's line that a JPC was the answer.
"I have spoken to the Trinamool Congress; they will go with what the government decides," Finance Minister and Congress' chief troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee said.
In Parliament, the government tried to use the fissure in the Opposition's ranks. Ruling party MPs replied to the Opposition's JPC call with their own placards supporting a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) probe.
The Public Accounts Committee, headed by BJP's M M Joshi, is keen to look into the 2G scam but they have been given subtle signals to slow down.
"The attempts to influence PAC are undemocratic," Parliamentary Affairs minister Pawan Bansal said.
The Opposition wants JPC, government backs PAC, the Winter Session is doomed, the CBI raids have begun, the court is breathing down the government's neck - a storm is building up and there are apprehensions that it may not subside even till the Budget Session.