New Delhi, April 25
The government and the Opposition are today understood to have agreed to a sine die adjournment of the Budget Session on April 27 in view of the May 10 assembly elections.

The government also agreed to move a resolution on setting up a JPC on the stock market scam.

The decision to adjourn the House came after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan held several rounds of informal parleys with Congress leaders Manmohan Singh and Madhav Rao Scindia following an all-party meeting presided over by the Speaker, Mr GMC Balayogi, in the morning.

With the important business of the Budget completed in the Lok Sabha today, the parties agreed for the adjournment, with the main Opposition Congress “reluctantly” going along with the rest of the Opposition on the idea, sources said.

The Budget Session was originally scheduled to last till May 11.

Mr Balayogi also met President K.R. Narayanan today to apprise him about the resolution of the impasse.

During the day, Congress and other opposition parties were keen that Parliament hold a brief five-day session from May 14 during which the Tehelka issue could have been discussed, but the idea was given up as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would be away in Malaysia during the period. Mr Vajpayee’s visit to Malaysia was deferred earlier in the wake of the Gujarat quake.

The Congress, which struck a deal with government on the issue of a JPC probe in the Tehelka expose for resolving the stalemate, appears to have cooled down on the issue for the moment.

However, conceding the Opposition demand, the government decided to move a resolution in Parliament tomorrow on the setting up of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the stock market scandal, Mr Mahajan said.

“Hopefully, by tomorrow evening you will have a JPC on the stock market problem,’’ he said.

Mr Mahajan said that a final decision was yet to be taken on the number of MPs who would constitute the committee and it would be decided in consultation with the Opposition parties.

Sources said till now, the JPCs, including that on the Bofors issue, had 30 members — 20 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. However, the number could now be increased to 45. Mr Mahajan said once a final view was taken on the number of members of the JPC, political parties would be informed to nominate their MPs.