New Delhi:
The Prime Minister was inaudible as he explained his government's stand on the coal allocation controversy in Parliament today. The BJP shouted loudly, demanding his resignation, extending the strategy that it adopted all of last week to paralyse Parliament.
The Prime Minister's Office used twitter to share his statement. "I wish to say that any allegations of impropriety are without basis and unsupported by the facts," he said, amid a cacophony of protests. Later, the PM made a brief statement outside. He said the findings of the national auditor that the country lost thousands of crores because coal blocks were assigned without an auction are "disputable and will be challenged." He added, "I appeal to the opposition to come back to the House and debate the issue."
The BJP had warned this morning that it would not cooperate with the PM's attempt to rebut the charges that on his watch as Coal Minister, private firms between 2004 and 2009 benefitted by upto Rs 1.86 lakh crore because coal fields were sold to them at under-valued prices, a conclusion reached by the national auditor (CAG) in a report presented earlier this month. "As the minister in charge, I take full responsibility for the decisions of the ministry," the PM 's statement declares.
Dr Manmohan Singh leaves for an official visit to Iran tomorrow.
This morning, the BJP's allies said they don't agree with its strategy of insisting on te PM's resignation before he speaks on "Coal-gate." Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said today that "Parliament must be allowed to function." Nitish Kumar's JD(U), another important ally, has also told the BJP that it would like to hear what the PM has to say.
Earlier this month, the national auditor said that between 2004 and 2009, private firms gained upto Rs. 1.86 lakh crore because they were sold hugely under-priced coal fields. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor Genral (CAG) not indict the Prime Minister but said that an auction should have been held to allocate coal blocks. The PM was Coal Minister for three of the years studied by the auditor.
There is, however, a considerable chink in the BJP's attack. Many of its own state governments objected to an auction for mines when the centre mooted a proposal for bidding in 2006.
Ahead of an all-party meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to try and break the impasse in Parliament today, the BJP is trying to win over allies of the Congress to its side, but without the desired result. The BJP invited Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati, who leads the Bahujan Samaj Party, among others, for a meeting that it has called today to discuss strategy on "Coal-Gate". Both Mr Yadav and Ms Mayawati have said no, thank you.
While that is cause for some relief for the government, it has a tough task in hand to get Parliament to function in the Monsoon session. The BJP is refusing to budge and the prospect of a complete washout of the session looms large. The month-long session ends on September 8.
Calling the government "arrogant and despotic", senior party leader and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, wrote on his party's website yesterday that, "The arbitrary and discretionary allocation of 142 coal blocks is the latest albatross round the neck of the UPA Government. The arrogant and despotic government did not realise when the allocations were made that it would be held accountable for each of these coal block allocations."
The Prime Minister's Office used twitter to share his statement. "I wish to say that any allegations of impropriety are without basis and unsupported by the facts," he said, amid a cacophony of protests. Later, the PM made a brief statement outside. He said the findings of the national auditor that the country lost thousands of crores because coal blocks were assigned without an auction are "disputable and will be challenged." He added, "I appeal to the opposition to come back to the House and debate the issue."
The BJP had warned this morning that it would not cooperate with the PM's attempt to rebut the charges that on his watch as Coal Minister, private firms between 2004 and 2009 benefitted by upto Rs 1.86 lakh crore because coal fields were sold to them at under-valued prices, a conclusion reached by the national auditor (CAG) in a report presented earlier this month. "As the minister in charge, I take full responsibility for the decisions of the ministry," the PM 's statement declares.
Dr Manmohan Singh leaves for an official visit to Iran tomorrow.
This morning, the BJP's allies said they don't agree with its strategy of insisting on te PM's resignation before he speaks on "Coal-gate." Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said today that "Parliament must be allowed to function." Nitish Kumar's JD(U), another important ally, has also told the BJP that it would like to hear what the PM has to say.
Earlier this month, the national auditor said that between 2004 and 2009, private firms gained upto Rs. 1.86 lakh crore because they were sold hugely under-priced coal fields. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor Genral (CAG) not indict the Prime Minister but said that an auction should have been held to allocate coal blocks. The PM was Coal Minister for three of the years studied by the auditor.
There is, however, a considerable chink in the BJP's attack. Many of its own state governments objected to an auction for mines when the centre mooted a proposal for bidding in 2006.
Ahead of an all-party meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to try and break the impasse in Parliament today, the BJP is trying to win over allies of the Congress to its side, but without the desired result. The BJP invited Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati, who leads the Bahujan Samaj Party, among others, for a meeting that it has called today to discuss strategy on "Coal-Gate". Both Mr Yadav and Ms Mayawati have said no, thank you.
While that is cause for some relief for the government, it has a tough task in hand to get Parliament to function in the Monsoon session. The BJP is refusing to budge and the prospect of a complete washout of the session looms large. The month-long session ends on September 8.
Calling the government "arrogant and despotic", senior party leader and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, wrote on his party's website yesterday that, "The arbitrary and discretionary allocation of 142 coal blocks is the latest albatross round the neck of the UPA Government. The arrogant and despotic government did not realise when the allocations were made that it would be held accountable for each of these coal block allocations."
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
