After one estimate suggested Rs150 crore had been spent on the wasted winter session, all-round criticism led both sides to think of ways to emerge from the impasse. Tuesday's expected JPC announcement could clear the way for Parliament to begin functioning again.
Putting aside its winter fiasco, Parliament is all set for a smooth budget session from tomorrow with government telling the opposition that an announcement on the constitution of a JPC into the 2G spectrum will be made on Tuesday.
Leader of the house in the Lok Sabha and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee gave the assurance to opposition leaders at a meeting convened by the speaker Meira Kumar that the government will make the announcement in the house on JPC on
Tuesday when actual proceedings of the budget session start.
Sources said there could be discussions between the government and the opposition parties before the announcement or after it about constitution of the committee, representation on it for parties and the terms of reference following which the house is expected to adopt a resolution.
Tomorrow, the session gets a formal start with the President's address to the joint sitting of both the houses of Parliament. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed the hope that the budget session would be "fruitful and productive".
With the entire winter session disrupted, there was all-round criticism and expression of concerns that led both sides to think ways of finding a way out of the impasse. According to one estimate, over Rs150 crore was spent on a session that did not transact any business.
The General Budget for 2011-12 will be presented on February 28 while the Railway budget on February 25. The pre-budget Economic Survey will also be tabled on February 25.
Officially there was no word from the government on its plans on conceding to the JPC demand over which the entire winter session was washed out but opposition leaders coming out of the meeting disclosed the government's intention.
They said in keeping with Parliamentary norms that a formal statement should be made in the House, the government was reticent about making it public.
One opposition leader, who attended the meeting, said that while giving the assurance Mukherjee told them not to speak about it.
CPI parliamentary party leader Gurudas Dasgupta told the media "why you want me to break the niceties. Government has agreed on the JPC. It has come in the media".
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