The government has conceded to the opposition?s demand of having 30 members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the 2G spectrum issue, giving up its earlier plan for a 21-member panel to accommodate smaller parties such as the AIADMK, according to news reports.
This came after AIADMK?s MP M. Thambidurai met the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and NDA Working Chairperson L.K. Advani to request that the principal opposition also take up its case for a 30-member JPC.
Thereafter, the government stated that it has decided to have a 30-member panel to accommodate smaller parties which could not have been represented in a 21-member JPC.
20 members of the JPC will be from the Lok Sabha, while 10 will be from the Rajya Sabha. The Congress will have eight members in the Committee from the Lower House and three from the Upper House.
The BJP will have four members from the Lok Sabha in the committee, one of which it will give to its ally, the Shiv Sena. The main opposition will also have two members from the Upper House. The DMK will have two members and AIADMK will have one member in the panel.
It is believed that the Motion for formation of the JPC will be moved by Kapil Sibal, Minister of Telecommunications and IT at 2 PM on February 24, 2011, in the Lok Sabha. This will be followed by a four-hour discussion on the issue.
Meanwhile, Congress MP P.C. Chacko is still the front-runner for the post of JPC chairperson. Congress allys NCP and Trinamool Congress will have one member each on the panel. BSP, JD (U) and Left parties will have two each while SP and BJD will have one each.
