Oppn eyes PAC spot; might spell disaster for govt

In a move that may add to the woes of the UPA government, the opposition parties are trying to get one of their members elected to the parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

In a move that may add to the woes of the UPA government, the opposition parties are trying to get one of their members elected to the parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC). An additional opposition member in the panel would tilt its political balance in favour of the opposition.

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The election for a seat in the panel from the Rajya Sabha is due on September 6 as Congress member Jayanthi Natarajan resigned after joining the council of ministers last month. To garner support from all opposition quarters, a non-BJP candidate will be fielded to contest against a Congress nominee.

The panel would be reviewing the CAG report on the Commonwealth Games, among other things. The chairman, BJP veteran Murali Manohar Joshi, is keen to revive the 2G scam draft report too.

The Left's strength has decreased by four seats. Still the opposition collectively enjoys a majority over the UPA in the Upper House.

"We are banking on this strength as only the Rajya Sabha members will vote," said BJD's Bhartruhari Mahtab, an opposition member in the PAC.

Currently out of 21 members in the PAC both the UPA and the opposition have 9 members. BSP and SP, the critical but outside supporters of the UPA have three members among them.

The tenth opposition member can make things difficult for the ruling coalition and make it dependent on the BSP and the SP.

UPA floor managers claim that it would be able to avert this defeat with the help of outside supporters.

"With BSP and SP in our side, we will have a majority in the Rajya Sabha", said minister of state for PMO, V Narayanasamy.

But with elections in Uttar Pradesh round the corner, the opposition leaders feel the UP-based BSP and the SP may throw surprises.