Former Coal Secretary PC Parakh (file pic)
In a fresh twist to the coal allotment scam, a letter written by former Coal Secretary PC Parakh to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 has come to light, where he says that the mafia has entered the coal ministry.
Mr Parakh, who has been named in the CBI's most-recent FIR in the case, had written the letter in response to a letter from then Coal Minister Shibu Soren, who wrote to the PM asking for the Coal Secretary's transfer.
Mr Parakh was at loggerheads with Mr Soren since he was pushing for a bidding-based system of coal allotment, which the minister opposed.
Mr Parakh's letter said the mafia is everywhere, including in the ministry, Coal India, and politics, and the only way to deal with the mafia is to bring structural changes in coal industry.