From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: Sacked Naval chief Vishnu Bhagwat has given yet
another handle to the Opposition to rock both the Houses of
Parliament with his affidavit to court on alleged corruption in
the defence purchases and demand nothing short of a Joint
Parliamentary Committee to probe his dismissal and his charges.

The Rajya Sabha business was drowned after the question hour as
the Opposition was angry at the government backing out from the
promised debate on the defence corruption, wondering how the
government can drop the agreed business from the House. Chairman
Krishna Kant adjourned the House first for 90 minutes and then
for the day.

Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi, however, tactfully re-railed the
proceedings after an adjournment by Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed
when the Congress members trouped into the House well, raising
slogans "we want JPC, we want JPC." His promise to take a
decision positively on Wednesday restored order.

The Opposition is, however, skeptic about the discussion taking
place on Wednesday on the corruption charges levelled by the
Naval chief on Defence Minister George Fernandes as agreed upon
last week itself in view of the government backing out in the
Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha, however, took up for discussion
on Tuesday on allegations levelled against Finance Minister
Yashwant Sinha by his dismissed economic advisor Mohan Guruswamy.

PANEL STRUCK: Speaker Balayogi seems in a bind on a joint
parliamentary panel constituted by him to examine dismissal of
Admiral Bhagwat and decide whether it should be debated in the
House or not in view of the government's plea of the security
risk.

The Communists were harbouring own doubts from day one about
utility of such a panel but it is now the Congress which has
suddenly woken to re-assert its earlier demand to better have a
joint parliamentary committee to deal with the dismissal case
instead of any such informal panel.

Balayogi has already expanded the panel to have total 24 members
but a meeting of the panel three days ago and again Tuesday
morning yielded no result as nobody was even ready to become
chairman of such a toothless body. First former Prime Minister
Chandra Shekhar declined and then former Home Minister
and CPI leader Indrajit Gupta also excused himself, stressing
that the Speaker should straightway set up the JPC. Why do you
want to discuss the matter at all in the House if you visualise
the danger to the national security, why not JPC better deal
with it to keep everything "in camera", the opposition told the
government during their meeting in the Speaker's chamber.

The Speaker has, however, convened yet another meeting Wednesday
morning at 9 AM to break the ice but as the Congress leaders
affirmed at the party press briefing, they would not agree for
anything except the JPC.

The Congress was all prepared in both the Houses to push the
government to a tight spot to the extent that Home Minister Lal
Krishna Advani who had got the whiff of its plan kept repeatedly
telling the Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha: "Better adjourn the
House if they don't want it."

STINKING AFFAIR: It was former Union Minister and Congress
member Rajesh Pilot who took up the Bhagwat issue during the
zero hour, pointing out that there was "something stinking in
the whole affair" as evidenced from the court affidavit of the
Naval chief. A dismissed defence personal does not get pension
but Bhagwat has been granted pension even after his dismissal.

Pilot stressed that the whole affair needs to go before a Joint
Parliamentary Committee which can examine everything threadbare.
"We don't mind if JPC is held in camera," he said.

Advani, however, questioned propriety of the Congress raising
the issue in the House when the Speaker was already holding
discussions with the selected leaders. He wondered if the
decision had been taken to raise it in the House.

Advani's remarks provoked the Congress benches as after a
pandemonium for a couple of minutes they started trouping into
the well and raising slogans, the loudest voice being that of
the tall Goa member Francisco Sardinha. The Deputy Speaker tried
for almost ten minutes to pacify his own Congress party
colleagues even as the ruling benches suddenly opted to become
mute spectators and not engage in any slanging match. The House
was ultimately adjourned only to re-rail when the Speaker took
the chair after the break. END.
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