NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday rejected opposition demand for joint parliamentary committee probe into both the IPL controversy and the phone-tapping issue on the ground that it was not needed.

“JPC for what? This is not a fit case for JPC,” Dr Singh said when asked about the opposition demand for a JPC into the phone-tapping allegation.
Asked whether the government had rejected the demand for a JPC on the IPL issue, Dr Singh said, “I don’t think there is a need for a JPC. A JPC is a very serious issue. We can’t rush to such a conclusion in haste.”
He said the Union Home Minister, Mr P Chidambaram had explained the phone-tapping allegations in Parliament. “I had offered to come before Parliament after 3.30 p.m. if there was a sitting, but there was restlessness,” he added.
Allegations of illegal telephone tapping on political leaders disrupted both Houses of Parliament although the government maintained it had not authorised any such activity nor it found any substance in them.
Dr Singh, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a defence investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, also expressed confidence over his government surviving the cut-motions on budgetary grants in Parliament.
“We are as confident as possible,” he said.
“Of course, we are confident,” the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, who was also present on the occasion, said when asked about the opposition threat to bring cut motions against the finance bill.
To another query on bringing women’s reservation bill in Lok Sabha, he said his government was committed to bring the bill before Parliament, but the precise date would be finalised by the floor managers.