New Delhi, November 17
With the Opposition now demanding an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the Supreme Court’s observations in the 2G Spectrum case, the Congress and the government are preparing to battle it out in court and in Parliament.

While Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam will respond tomorrow to the apex court’s observations over the PM’s “inaction and silence” in responding to the plea for sanction to prosecute former Telecommunications Minister A Raja, the Congress is set to take on the Opposition which has disrupted Parliament to press its demand for a JPC probe into 2G Spectrum allocation.

The government has rejected this demand on the plea that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is adequately empowered to scrutinise the CAG report on this issue. The government will make yet another attempt to break the 10-day logjam in Parliament which appears highly unlikely. Lok Sabha leader Pranab Mukherjee, who failed to persuade Opposition leaders yesterday to end the impasse in Parliament, left for Madurai today to attend DMK patriarch M.Karunanidhi’s grandson’s wedding. He is expected to confer with the PM on the matter on his return tomorrow. The government had hoped that Raja’s exit from the Union Cabinet would restore normalcy in Parliament but the Supreme Court’s remarks have come as a shot in the arm for the Opposition which has made several attempts in the past to sully Prime Minister’s clean image but without much success. That the fresh development has further emboldened the Opposition was evident from the tone and tenor of BJP leader LK Advani’s statements on this issue today.

“The PM should immediately respond to what the Supreme Court has said on Raja issue," he said,.

Advani’s demand was backed by AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa while the CPM asked the Prime Minister to explain why a probe into the 2G Spectrum allocation scam was delayed despite repeated demands by it since 2008.

On its part, the Congress sought to play down the court observations. "The SC has asked the government a question and the government will give an appropriate response tomorrow," party spokesperson Manish Tewari said. He asserted that the PM did take action by securing Raja's resignation before the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General was tabled in Parliament.

"The Prime Minister has taken action. It is wrong to say he has not acted. Even before the CAG report was tabled in Parliament, it was the Prime Minister who secured the resignation of the Telecom Minister," Tewari said.