Speaker calls meeting of leaders on the eve of Budget Session

New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) In a move aimed at ensuring a
smooth running of Parliament, a meeting of leaders of all
political parties has been convened by Lok Sabha(lower house
of Parliament) Speaker Meira Kumar on February 20 on the eve
of the Budget Session.
The meeting assumes significance as the entire Winter
Session had been a washout following the government-opposition
deadlock over the issue of JPC probe into the 2G spectrum scam
which threatens to mar the Budget Session too.
Only two days back, Kumar, currently away in Colombo,
had struck an optimistic note on the resolution of the
deadlock.
"I am very optimistic. There comes a time in the life
of Parliament when things seem turbulent, but our abiding
faith in Parliamentary system and democracy always helps us to
overcome," she had said.
The "very positive and very cordial" meetings that she
had with the BJP and Congress leadership was the basis for
Kumar's optimism. Kumar said that she was "determined" to
have a session and her role was that of a facilitator.
A meeting of the Chief Whips of various political
parties has been convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Pawan Kumar Bansal on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has alreay held a
meeting with leaders of all political parties following which
there were signals that the Government may not be averse to a
JPC if there was a prior debate and the opposition agreed to
the modalities.