New Delhi:
Law Minister Ashwani Kumar today said that he will not resign from office despite the CBI admitting that he asked to see a copy of the report on its coal investigation before it was submitted to the Supreme Court. (Read: CBI says report was shared with Law Minister, PMO)
"I have done no wrong, the truth will prevail," Mr Kumar said today, as the opposition insisted he has "lost the moral right" to remain in office.
The CBI director, Ranjit Sinha, has not disclosed whether the minister asked him to make changes, or if he accommodated these requests. Mr Sinha's affidavit to the court today says that the report was also previewed by a senior bureaucrat in the Prime Minister's Office and the Coal Ministry. (Read: CBI director's affidavit to Supreme Court)
At a meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Kumar allegedly did not offer to resign and said it is his job, as the government's law officer, to provide legal inputs. "There's no case against the Coal Ministry or Law Ministry," he is reported to have said. Mr Kumar said that the government should decide its course of action after the next hearing in court on April 30, when the judges will react to the CBI's affidavit.
The Congress is backing its minister. Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior Congressman Kamal Nath too said today that it's important to see what action the Supreme Court recommends next week, and ruled out Mr Kumar's resignation.
The Law Minister told reporters that the document he saw was a draft, and not the final version that was given to the court, but he is on thin moral ground.
The opposition says that the CBI's revelations prove that the government tried to impede the CBI's autonomy and investigation, and that the Law Minister and Prime Minister are equally accountable and must quit. (Read: PM must quit says BJP after CBI disclosure)
The CBI document is meant to be confidential between the agency and the judges who are monitoring why coal fields were allocated to private players without a transparent bidding process.
"I have done no wrong, the truth will prevail," Mr Kumar said today, as the opposition insisted he has "lost the moral right" to remain in office.
The CBI director, Ranjit Sinha, has not disclosed whether the minister asked him to make changes, or if he accommodated these requests. Mr Sinha's affidavit to the court today says that the report was also previewed by a senior bureaucrat in the Prime Minister's Office and the Coal Ministry. (Read: CBI director's affidavit to Supreme Court)
At a meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Kumar allegedly did not offer to resign and said it is his job, as the government's law officer, to provide legal inputs. "There's no case against the Coal Ministry or Law Ministry," he is reported to have said. Mr Kumar said that the government should decide its course of action after the next hearing in court on April 30, when the judges will react to the CBI's affidavit.
The Congress is backing its minister. Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior Congressman Kamal Nath too said today that it's important to see what action the Supreme Court recommends next week, and ruled out Mr Kumar's resignation.
The Law Minister told reporters that the document he saw was a draft, and not the final version that was given to the court, but he is on thin moral ground.
The opposition says that the CBI's revelations prove that the government tried to impede the CBI's autonomy and investigation, and that the Law Minister and Prime Minister are equally accountable and must quit. (Read: PM must quit says BJP after CBI disclosure)
The CBI document is meant to be confidential between the agency and the judges who are monitoring why coal fields were allocated to private players without a transparent bidding process.
