New Delhi:
Law Minister
Ashwani Kumar, who has incited a mega-controversy for the government, has refused to resign, insisting that he has done "nothing wrong" by asking for changes to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report on its coal investigation before the document was shared with the Supreme Court.
He appears to be a party of one.
Today, one of the government's top law officers seemed to agree that a meeting called by the minister, where he made changes to the report in the presence of CBI Director Ranjit Sinha, was inappropriate.
Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran told NDTV that the CBI has guaranteed in writing to the court that it will not share reports with the government in future. "Why should they put in a specific paragraph ...'in future we are sure that this will not be done'," he asked, if there was no breach of protocol, describing the CBI's statement as "axiomatic" or self-evident.
Last week, the CBI confessed to the Supreme Court that the report was shared not just with the Law Minister but with a senior bureaucrat each in the Coal Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.
But the Solicitor General said that there was no attempt by the Prime Minister's Office to interfere with the investigation. He said the department provided facts that were sought by the CBI to determine how coal fields were allocated to private players.
Responding to reports that the PM had asked if he is an accused in the case, the Solicitor General said the remarks were made "in a lighter vein."
Mr Prasaran said that Dr Manmohan Singh told, "We should be absolutely honest."
Many in the Congress believe that the Law Minister's actions have led to full-frontal exposure for the government at a time when it is already beleaguered with corruption scandals. But so far, the Prime Minister has backed Mr Kumar.