New Delhi, Aug. 12: Parliament can expect more turmoil tomorrow when it reconvenes after a four-day recess as the Centre today rejected the Opposition’s demand on the Central Vigilance Committee report on defence purchases.

The Centre-Opposition standoff continued as the government said there was no such report relating to the period of the Kargil war. The Opposition had earlier demanded submission of the report to the Public Accounts Committee.

The Centre, worried over the likely delay in important legislative business, called a meeting of senior BJP leaders this morning.

After the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, V.K. Malhotra said the Centre had rejected the Opposition demand to show the vigilance report to the accounts panel because “there is no such CVC report on Operation Vijay”.

He said the government had also turned down the demand for the Prime Minister to make a statement if a debate was held on the issue.

BJP chief M. Venkaiah Naidu said: “We do not accept the Congress’ demand that only the PM should reply to the debate. What if tomorrow we were to say that the leader of the Opposition should only speak extempore in the House? Will the Congress agree to that?”

The meeting was attended by deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, finance minister Jaswant Singh, parliamentary affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and chief whips of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, V.K. Malhotra and S.S. Ahluwalia. Defence minister George Fernandes, the man at the centre of the standoff, was also there.

The Centre clarified that Fernandes would make a statement if a discussion took place and also give the reply. Vajpayee could intervene, if necessary.

The only “concession” the Centre was willing to make, BJP sources said, was to show the vigilance report to the presiding officers of both Houses. “It was up to them to decide what they could do.”

The government was also willing to “share background details of the PAC with the House”, sources said.

The standoff is likely to hit the passing of supplementary demand-for-grants and two bills — one of the finance ministry and the other, the Indian Telegraph bill — both of which do not need to be sent to standing committees. The House will be adjourned sine die on August 22.

Equally concerned about the fate of parliamentary business, the leader of the Opposition, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, met her senior MPs today. Accounts panel chairman Buta Singh also attended.

The predominant mood in the party was to keep the issue “alive”. Congress strategists believe the controversy will pay political dividends in the months to come because of what they call the serious ramifications of keeping the House and, by extension, the nation “in the dark” on defence purchases.

According to the Congress, it is not for the Centre to decide whether the vigilance report should be made available to the accounts panel. The party believes that the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairperson have the last word.