New Delhi:
Ahead of a Supreme Court hearing today, the Prime Minister has met with Attorney General GE Vahanvati to discuss how the government will counter the strong charges of trying to influence the CBI's report on its coal investigation before it was given to the court last month.
Sources say in its explanation to the court, the government will take a firm stand, despite being on thin moral ground.
At the last hearing a few days ago, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) admitted that the report had been vetted by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, and a senior bureaucrat each in the Coal Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.
The opposition says this is incontrovertible evidence that the government tried to influence the CBI's report and has been demanding the resignation of both the Law Minister and the Prime Minister. Dr Manmohan Singh defiantly said over the weekend that would not happen.
At their meeting on Sunday, the PM and the Attorney General reportedly agreed that the court will be told that no meetings have taken place between the Law Minister and CBI officials since March 12 when the judges made it clear that consultations would be inappropriate. At that hearing, they asked the CBI chief to state in writing that his report had not been shared with "the political executive."
Sources also say that the government will argue that neither the Law Minister nor the Prime Minister's Office are guilty of transgressions that impede upon the CBI's autonomy.
The CBI is monitoring the inquiry into how and why coal fields were allocated to private players without a transparent bidding process. The case is sensitive for the government because for some of the years under scrutiny, the Prime Minister held direct charge of the Coal Ministry.
Sources say in its explanation to the court, the government will take a firm stand, despite being on thin moral ground.
At the last hearing a few days ago, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) admitted that the report had been vetted by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, and a senior bureaucrat each in the Coal Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.
The opposition says this is incontrovertible evidence that the government tried to influence the CBI's report and has been demanding the resignation of both the Law Minister and the Prime Minister. Dr Manmohan Singh defiantly said over the weekend that would not happen.
At their meeting on Sunday, the PM and the Attorney General reportedly agreed that the court will be told that no meetings have taken place between the Law Minister and CBI officials since March 12 when the judges made it clear that consultations would be inappropriate. At that hearing, they asked the CBI chief to state in writing that his report had not been shared with "the political executive."
Sources also say that the government will argue that neither the Law Minister nor the Prime Minister's Office are guilty of transgressions that impede upon the CBI's autonomy.
The CBI is monitoring the inquiry into how and why coal fields were allocated to private players without a transparent bidding process. The case is sensitive for the government because for some of the years under scrutiny, the Prime Minister held direct charge of the Coal Ministry.
