The Government has offered to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss whether to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G spectrum allocation issue. The offer was made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee at a private news channel award function in New Delhi yesterday. Mr. Mukherjee said that he is ready to call a special session of Parliament before the Budget Session if the Opposition gives an assurance that there will be a debate on the issue. He said the Opposition should discuss the issue on the floor of Parliament and not destroy the institution itself. Mr. Mukherjee’s offer came in response to a remark by BJP President Nitin Gadkari that his party is ready to cooperate with the government in the Budget Session if the JPC is formed. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has also said that the government may approach political parties on the issue in a day or two. He said there will be no fixed duration of the session and it could be of four to six days, depending on the situation. The Government has been maintaining that the JPC is not necessary to look into the 2G spectrum allocation and the task can be performed by the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has even offered to appear before the PAC. But the Opposition is adamant on the JPC probe saying that the PAC has a limited mandate and could not probe aspects beyond auditing.