Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in both the Houses of Parliament, saying that the CAG report on coal block allocations was misleading raised the hackles of the Opposition parties.
The Congress, however, welcomed the Prime Minister’s statement, saying that all doubts of the BJP should be cleared by the clarification.
The BJP struck back and said the statement was an assault both on Constitutionalism and constitutional authority of CAG.
The Left parties and the Telugu Desam said the Prime Minister had lost respect for the Constitution and demanded that all licences to private parties to mine coal be cancelled.
NDA allies said they were in support of the BJP’s “game plan” on the issue.
The Prime Minister’s statement is likely to worsen the deadlock in Parliament. In an effort to create an atmosphere of discussion, the BJD, SP, CPI (M) and the RJD have given notices for short duration debate on the issue. The BJP and its allies, however, are in no mood for a discussion.
In response to the four-page clarification, the Opposition leaders in both the Houses, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, said it was a “defiance” of ethics in governance and polity.
The party asked the Centre to immediately cancel the coal block allocations and auction them in open market. “The Prime Minister will know the value of coal once he does this,” Jaitley said.
The leaders also urged the Prime Minister to own moral responsibility and resign.
Swaraj alleged that corruption money from the scam had gone into Congress’s coffers. The Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari, however, refuted this.
He said the party had no plans to impeach the present CAG and its opposition was to certain findings in the reports.
jigeesh.am
@thehindu.co.in