New Delhi:
The government has been accused of a massive coal scam by the Opposition - both Houses of Parliament were adjourned this morning. The latest crisis for the government is based on a draft report on coal mining by the government's auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
The Prime Minister's office say that it a letter from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India this afternoon. Here's the letter:
With reference to the lead story published in the Times of India today titled "Government lost Rs 10.7 lakh crore by not auctioning coal blocks: CAG", the Prime Minister has received a letter from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India at 1:30 pm today.
Among other things, the letter clarifies that: "In the extant case the details being brought out were observations which are under discussion at a very preliminary stage and do not even constitute our pre-final draft and hence are exceedingly misleading. Pursuant to clarification provided by the Ministry in exit conferences held on 9.02.2012 and 9.03.2012, we have changed our thinking... In fact it is not even our case that the unintended benefit to the allocatee is an equivalent loss to the exchequer. The leak of the initial draft causes great embarrassment as the Audit Report is still under preparation. Such leakage causes very deep anguish."