NCP SP breaks ranks, to join JPC on bills to sack mantris

NEW DELHI: Breaking ranks with the opposition, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Sharad Pawar has decided to be part of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the bills for automatic dismissal of jailed chief ministers and ministers.

Sources said NCP (SP) has conveyed that it will join the JPC that the India bloc has decided to boycott. A message to this effect has been conveyed to the govt.

NCP (SP)’s decision has come as a surprise given that it was expected to be in sync with the Congress line. However, opposition sources have said that a few parties are upset with Congress for not managing the issue of consensus among allies efficiently. Even CPM was cut up with Congress after the principal opposition party tried to convince members that the opposition should stay away from the JPC.

The changed Congress stance caught some allies off guard because they had informally agreed to join the panel despite opposition from Trinamool Congress. The pressure on Congress escalated after Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Aam Aadmi Party too joined Trinamool, arguing that parliamentary panels were “useless” because the govt was not giving any consideration to the suggestions of the opposition, and was using the panels to bulldoze bills.

While Congress managers managed to convince Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Communist Party (Marxist) and others, it is learnt NCP (SP) stuck to its stance that they should join the panel.


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