Parliament adjourned sine die as Opp-govt face-off over JPC on

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Monday as the Winter Session of the Parliament concluded without any substantial business being transacted as the Opposition stalled proceedings for 22 successive working days over a demand for JPC probe into the 2S Spectrum scam, while the government refused to oblige.

Opposition MPs, led by the BJP and AIADMK, raised noisy demands for a JPC probe into the 2G scam in both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha immediately after paying tributes to those killed in the terrorist attack on the Parliament on this day in 2001.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, paying homage, said, ?Nine years ago, in a brazen attack, terrorists sought to unsuccessfully hit at the very edifice of our democratic polity, the Parliament of India.?

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, remembering the supreme sacrifice by the nine security personnel, said, ?December 13, 2010 marks the 9th anniversary of dastardly attack on Parliament by terrorists…the House recalls heroic deeds and supreme sacrifices by our security personnel who laid down their lives … while preventing entry of terrorists in Parliament.

?The deceased set an example of supreme sacrifice. The House pays homage and condemns the incident in unequivocal terms,? he added.

The members also observed silence as mark of respect to those killed in the attack.

However, unruly scenes returned to both Houses immediately after it and the Opposition members raised demands for the JPC, shouting anti-government slogans.

Amidst the din, Parliament was adjourned till noon and finally sine die.

The Opposition had stalled proceedings in both Houses of Parliament over demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G Spectrum allocation scam.

The government has refused to oblige, pointing that the Public Accounts Committee is already looking into the matter.

The Opposition has now warned of dragging on the matter till the Budget Session in February next year and has lined up programmes to keep the issue alive.