Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the $40 billion Aditya Birla Group, has been accused by the CBI of cheating and conspiracy.
New Delhi:
Billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla is likely to meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday evening. The agenda is not known, but the meeting comes days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a first information report against Mr Birla, his company Hindalco and former Coal Secretary PC Parakh in the coal block allocation scam.
Mr Birla, chairman of the $40 billion Aditya Birla Group, has been accused by the CBI of cheating and conspiracy. It has alleged that he was shown "undue favour" in a coal block being allotted to Hindalco in 2005. (Former Coal secretary Parakh reversed decision to favour Birla, says CBI)
India Inc is up in arms and has warned that the CBI's move against Mr Birla, a leading industrialist with business interests in 40 countries, could dampen investor sentiment at a time when the country faces an economic crisis.
In a statement, Naina Lal Kidwai, president of industry body Ficci said, "business leaders cannot be made scapegoats of mere suspicion and misconstrued actions." (Business leaders can't be made scapegoats, says India Inc)
She also stressed that such actions will have far reaching effects on bureaucratic decision making and it will impede critical decisions.
"He is straight as an arrow...ludicrous that an FIR has been filed against Kumar Mangalam Birla," HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, said adding, "Our system is such that the biggest fraudsters go scot-free, innocents are harassed."
Commerce minister Anand Sharma tried to reach out when he said in an interview to NDTV, "if every (policy) decision made is questioned, if every person is questioned, if an atmosphere of fear is created, this country will suffer." (Birla, other corporates held in high esteem: Commerce Minister Anand Sharma)
He also said that that there was nothing wrong in corporate leaders pleading their case before ministers. "It is their right," Mr Sharma said, referring to Mr Birla having presented his case to the Prime Minister in 2005 on why his company should be given a mining licence.
The matter is hyper-sensitive for the government as Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh headed the coal ministry for a portion of the period being investigated by the CBI. He held charge of the coal ministry in 2005, when the coal block in Odisha was allotted to Hindalco, one of the largest aluminium makers in Asia. (Is PM the 'competent authority' listed in CBI's FIR?)
Hindalco has said in a statement, "Every process required for coal allocation in line with government regulations completely followed." (Read statement)
Mr Birla, chairman of the $40 billion Aditya Birla Group, has been accused by the CBI of cheating and conspiracy. It has alleged that he was shown "undue favour" in a coal block being allotted to Hindalco in 2005. (Former Coal secretary Parakh reversed decision to favour Birla, says CBI)
India Inc is up in arms and has warned that the CBI's move against Mr Birla, a leading industrialist with business interests in 40 countries, could dampen investor sentiment at a time when the country faces an economic crisis.
In a statement, Naina Lal Kidwai, president of industry body Ficci said, "business leaders cannot be made scapegoats of mere suspicion and misconstrued actions." (Business leaders can't be made scapegoats, says India Inc)
She also stressed that such actions will have far reaching effects on bureaucratic decision making and it will impede critical decisions.
"He is straight as an arrow...ludicrous that an FIR has been filed against Kumar Mangalam Birla," HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, said adding, "Our system is such that the biggest fraudsters go scot-free, innocents are harassed."
Commerce minister Anand Sharma tried to reach out when he said in an interview to NDTV, "if every (policy) decision made is questioned, if every person is questioned, if an atmosphere of fear is created, this country will suffer." (Birla, other corporates held in high esteem: Commerce Minister Anand Sharma)
He also said that that there was nothing wrong in corporate leaders pleading their case before ministers. "It is their right," Mr Sharma said, referring to Mr Birla having presented his case to the Prime Minister in 2005 on why his company should be given a mining licence.
The matter is hyper-sensitive for the government as Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh headed the coal ministry for a portion of the period being investigated by the CBI. He held charge of the coal ministry in 2005, when the coal block in Odisha was allotted to Hindalco, one of the largest aluminium makers in Asia. (Is PM the 'competent authority' listed in CBI's FIR?)
Hindalco has said in a statement, "Every process required for coal allocation in line with government regulations completely followed." (Read statement)
