Filling up of the two vacancies in the Joint Parliamentary Committee has become crucial for the United Progressive Alliance to get the draft report on the spectrum allocations passed by the panel.
The vacancies were created by the retirement of DMK leader Tiruchi Siva from the Upper House and the appointment of Congress member E.M. Sudarshana Natchiappan to the Cabinet.
The Congress can send one of its members to the JPC. To ensure majority in the JPC, the party has already started a dialogue with the DMK. The party is trying to build a consensus among the floor leaders to send a DMK member to the panel.
After the retirement of Siva and Kanimozhi, the DMK has five members in the Rajya Sabha.
If Kanimozhi manages a second term, the party will have six members during the monsoon session.
In exchange of supporting Kanimozhi in the upcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha, the Congress is seeking the DMK’s support in Parliamentary panels, particularly in JPC.
“We have no issues in supporting a DMK candidate to the JPC. They are changing their stand on the draft report,” a senior Congress leader said confirming that talks are on between the two parties on the issue.
The Congress is also in touch with Samajwadi Party. SP has nine members in the Rajya Sabha and none of its Upper House MPs are in the JPC. Selection of DMK or SP member to the panel will help the Congress to get the draft report passed.
The Opposition, on the other hand, is favouring an election to the panel. It expects one member of the AIADMK, which will have seven members by July, could be sent to the panel.
“Let the House decide who should go to the JPC,” an Opposition member said.
The JPC is yet to meet after the controversies that started after the “leakage” of the draft report of the panel. The panel’s Chairman P.C. Chacko is in touch with Speaker Meira Kumar on filling the two vacancies in the panel.
As the vacancies are from Rajya Sabha, the Speaker will have to take up the matter with Rajya Sabha chairman, who consults floor leaders before taking a decision.