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Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said on Monday that the government was open to all options, including setting up a joint parliamentary committee on the Tehelka expose, after the general Budget is passed.
Vajpayee made the remark at a meeting convened by Speaker G M C Balayogi and attended by Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi to resolve the deadlock in Parliament.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters after the meeting lasting 20 minutes that Gandhi "responded positively" and said, "We still stand for a JPC, but in the national interest we shall see that the Budget is passed."
Vajpayee said, "The government will take a final view on the issue [setting up a JPC] with an open mind as and when it is raised in the House."
Mahajan accompanied Vajpayee at the meeting while Gandhi was assisted by senior party leaders Madhavrao Scindia and Priyaranjan Dasmunshi.
The meeting followed a second letter written by Vajpayee to Gandhi suggesting that they meet in the presence of the speaker and "sort out the present crisis in Parliament".
Thanking both Vajpayee and Gandhi for their keenness to find a solution to the impasse even though it had come a bit late, Balayogi said he was exercised over the way the railway budget was passed. He told them that as a result he was constrained to keep away from the House till the stalemate was resolved.
Emerging from the meeting, Gandhi told reporters that her party would co-operate with the government in financial business. "Where is the question of stalling Parliament when the government has said that it has an open mind on the JPC? We hope we will get a positive response," she said.
Mahajan said Vajpayee had written to Gandhi on Sunday night urging her to find a solution to the crisis. In her reply, she expressed similar sentiments about normal functioning of the House, but also expressed concern over the Tehelka tapes and felt it was in the national interest to set up a JPC.
PTI
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