NDA will go to people’s court on JPC probe: LK Advani

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will take to the streets to “expose” the UPA government on 2G spectrum and other scams. NDA leaders are, however, shy of demanding the ouster of the Manmohan Singh government.

Acting chairperson LK Advani made a forceful presentation on Tuesday on NDA’s resolve to pursue an anti-corruption agenda, including the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the spectrum scam, but denied that the opposition movement was aimed at pulling down the government.

“Our protest in Parliament was not for throwing out the government,” he said.

NDA does not want to destabilise the government because none of its MPs wants to face an election in the near future.

“The MPs have been elected for five years and they must complete their terms. The talk of a mid-term poll was started by some UPA leaders,” Advani said.

Sansad se Sadak tak was how Advani described NDA’s agitational programme aimed at mobilising public support for a JPC.

The programme will be launched on December 22 when the first of a series of planned rallies in all major cities of the country will be held. Mumbai will host one such rally on January 16, Advani said.

The aggressive mood in the NDA camp was clearly visible as all senior leaders of the combine, led by Advani, targetted prime minister Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

The reason for the direct attack on UPA’s top leadership and the staggered two-month-long agitation is that NDA wants to sustain the movement till the budget session of Parliament.

Meanwhile, the blame game over who paralysed the winter session of Parliament has intensified.

While the ruling UPA has repeatedly blamed NDA for having scuttled the session, the latter said the “sheer obstinacy” of the government in not accepting the demand for a JPC resulted in parliament not functioning.