Entire Opposition set to boycott JPC on three new bills

NEW DELHI: The entire opposition, including the Congress, is likely to boycott the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that will examine the three bills seeking the removal of top government functionaries, including the prime minister and the chief ministers, arrested or detained on criminal charges for 30 consecutive days, sources said. The Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have already stated that they will not send members to the panel, which is yet to be constituted. The Congress, which initially indicated its openness to send members to the panel, has decided to join others in the INDIA bloc in boycotting it, sources told this newspaper. They added that the Congress pivot on the issue is for the sake of opposition unity ahead of the Bihar elections and to keep up the momentum built around the issue of vote theft during the Monsoon Session. The committee has been asked to submit its report during the Winter Session, which will likely begin in the third week of November. Earlier, the Congress, the DMK and the CPI(M) argued that the Opposition should nominate members to the JPC and oppose the bill, which they see as unconstitutional and harmful to the countrys federal structure. According to sources, these parties felt the TMC, which was the first to announce it would not join the panel, made that decision without consulting others. Although the TMC wanted the Opposition to boycott the JPC, many felt the government would push the bill through without any opposition. We believed it was important to present our views and strongly oppose this harsh bill, said a leader.