'Cong. demand has come too late'

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, APRIL 18. The Government seems to have decided not to give in to the Congress demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee into the Tehelka affair even as it decided to push through the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday, April 20.

At two meetings chaired by the Prime Minister today - one at lunch time and another at 6 p.m. - senior BJP leaders in Government decided not to give the Congress an inch of space. The view was that the Congress had boycotted the all-party meeting of the Prime Minister before the session, and it had not taken up the offer of a JPC when made earlier and now it was too late.

The Government's view it seems has been helped along by the fact that the Left parties and the Samajwadi Party are keen to end the Budget session quickly and go on to electioneering for the Assembly polls.

The meetings today were attended by the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, the Rural Development Minister, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan and the Law Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitely.

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