Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 07, 2007
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Online edition of India's National Newspaper Friday, Sep 07, 2007 ePaper |
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Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Ruling out any rethink on the inappropriateness of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to examine the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said the United Progressive Alliance-Left panel on the issue was an internal arrangement “essential for the continuation of the government.” During the previous government’s tenure, there were differences among various constituents but the Congress never asked for a JPC. In 1999, when the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa withdrew support to the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party sent senior ministers Yashwant Sinha and George Fernandes to Chennai for talks. Again, Mr. Fernandes was reinducted as Defence Minister while the Tehelka probe was on. “In neither case, we wanted to know the contents of internal discussions or sought our involvement,” the Minister told newspersons here. “When [Leader of the Opposition] L.K. Advani says I am trying to save the government, he is right. Our government has 18 months to go and I will do everything to see that it lasts its full tenure. But that is not the case with the Opposition, whose job is to oppose and depose.” Mr. Mukherjee said there was no question of instituting a JPC as no international agreement had been subjected to Parliament’s scrutiny or ratification in the 57 years since the Constitution was adopted. “What purpose will a JPC serve? Are we going to write a new Constitution,” he wondered, adding the Constitution empowered the executive to decide on international agreements. The Minister described the Opposition demand as “funny” and cited Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s ruling vis-À-vis a discussion on the nuclear deal under Rule 184. The Speaker ruled out ratification of the deal by Parliament as this was not mandated by the Constitution. “What the Constitution has not mandated cannot be obtained in a circuitous way.” As for the Opposition view that a JPC would make the examination of the nuclear deal a non-partisan issue, Mr. Mukherjee said: “We are prepared to address their concerns even before the discussion in Parliament. But, this committee we have set up has nothing to do with Parliament. It is an internal arrangement between the ruling party and the supporting parties. This is essential for the continuation of the government.”
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