Room Number 144 in Parliament House complex housing the office of the BJD Parliamentary Party was the buzz of rare Opposition activity today.
The third floor office saw the Left and the Right making a common cause on the issue of removal of P C Chacko, chairman of JPC on the 2G scam.
A luncheon meeting hosted by Leader of the BJD Parliamentary Party Arjun Charan Sethi saw the joining of hands by unlikely political opponents. BJD's member on the JPC, Bhartruhari Mahtab, was at hand for consultations.
It had the presence of representatives of arch detractors-- the DMK and the AIADMK, the Left Parties and the Trinamool Congress.
Representatives of the BJP and JD-U which form part of the NDA were present so also those of the CPI and the CPI-M.
An Opposition member conceded that the meeting was "one of a kind" but declined to hazard a guess whether it should be seen as a precursor of anti-Congress forces coming together.
The letter to Speaker Meira Kumar was drafted by Mahtab taking into account the concerns of all parties. While one party did not want the name of A Raja to figure, some other said it was against mentioning the name of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Therefore, the letter merely spoke of the need for calling more "witnesses".
The JPC has 30 members, including Chacko. Congress, NCP, BSP and SP are supporting the chairperson. Though SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has said prime accused A Raja should have been called by the JPC as he wanted to depose, the party does not wish to go to the extent of seeking Chacko's removal.
