The Opposition seems bent on a Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) to probe the 2G scam despite welcoming the decision for a court-monitored investigation. But early indications are that it might not hold up the budget session of Parliament if the government did not give in to its demand.

Even the BJP, the principal Opposition, that was stuck on the no-JPC-no-Parliament position after the winter session adjourned sine die, signalled a meltdown. A senior MP said the core committee would meet in mid- January to take the final decision.

By then, the BJP hoped to get a fair idea of how the issue of corruption and its insistence on a JPC had played out on the ground. Depending on the feedback, we will firm up our strategy, the MP said.

When L.K. Advani was asked at a media conference on Tuesday if the BJP would stall the budget session if the government was unyielding on a JPC, he had said: We will decide our strategy then.

The CPI said it would ask for a JPC but allow the House to function. We still want a committee because it will have more teeth and its investigation will be multi-dimensional. But that doesnt mean we are going to hold up the Parliament session, said senior MP Gurudas Dasgupta.

He stressed that this was the CPIs decision and it was not taken in tandem with the CPM.

The CPM said it wanted a JPC but gave no idea of what its stand in Parliament would be.

CPM general secretary Prakash Karat described the Centres actions on the 2G front as a smokescreen to allow the main culprits to go scot-free.

The BJP has asked its MPs to fan out in their constituencies and try and gauge peoples mood on the JPC and Parliament stalling.

A party source admitted the BJP would have to convince its ally, the Janata Dal (United), to go easy in Parliament because its president Sharad Yadav continued to insist that corruption and Parliaments functioning cannot go hand in hand.