New Delhi:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to speak on the missing coal allocation files in Parliament today after the government, desperate to pass key legislation including the Food Security Bill, gave in to the Opposition's demand.
But despite the coal compromise, a new flashpoint has emerged over the suspension of 11 Andhra Pradesh MPs - including seven of the Congress's own - for incessantly disrupting House with their protests against a new Telangana state.
A combined opposition forced the government to retreat on its motion to suspend the MPs, but these members were back in action today, forcing the Lok Sabha to adjourn.
On Thursday, the Opposition repeatedly targeted a silent PM in the Rajya Sabha and asked him to explain how key files connected to the allegedly illegal allocation of coal blocks to private firms went missing.
The Opposition alleges some of the missing coal files were from the time the PM was in charge of the coal ministry.
Hours before relenting on the Opposition's demand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath had said, "The PM is not a custodian of files. He does not sit in store rooms, does not need to reply."
The government yesterday responded to the CBI's letters over the past few months asking for files related to its 13 FIRs or police complaints filed in the coal case, including those against two Congress MPs.
The Coal Ministry told CBI that many files were already with the agency. The government has also rebutted the CBI's claim that 225 files are missing, and said only seven files are missing.