Sushil Kumar Shinde's coal remark no laughing matter: Who said what

New Delhi: Over the weekend, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that the coal scam, India's largest swindle according to the national auditor, will soon be forgotten. Mr Shinde's remark has embarrassed the government and been cited by the opposition as proof that the ruling UPA takes graft lightly.  Here's a list of who said what on this new controversy:

At a function on September 15 in Pune, Mr Shinde had said, "Earlier, the Bofors was a talking point. People forgot about it. Now it is coal. This too will be forgotten. Once hands are washed off coal, they again become clean."

When reporters quizzed Mr Shinde about his remark after the function, he said, "Do you remember petrol pumps (scam) during NDA rule?"

Aftershocks created by his remark led to a clarification from him. Yesterday, he said. "I said something jokingly. The media quoted me out of context."

On Saturday, Congress leader Digvijay Singh tried to rescue Mr Shinde.  "See, you got Shinde wrong. The way false accusations were made on Bofors, false accusations are being made on the coal scam, that's what he meant," he said.

The opposition finds nothing funny about Mr Shinde's "joke."  

Rajnath Singh, Former BJP President: "People's memory is pretty good and doubting it is their (Congress') mistake.  There have been many scams like Adarsh, CWG, 2G and now Coalgate and public is very well aware about it. I am stunned that such remarks are passed."

Balbir Punj, BJP Leader: "It's a different matter whether people have forgotten Bofors or not but Congress has forgotten what Bofors had done to it. Since then, Congress has not got majority on its own." 

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP Leader: "Even if they try to make people forget they can never forget it. I think they should think, how long will their Government work. Bofors and Coalgate cannot be forgotten by anyone."

Prakash Karat, CPI (M) General Secretary: "By 2014, Mr Shinde will understand how short public memory really is."

D Raja, CPI Leader: "The fact that Congress lost elections after Bofors is a message that people gave to the government of the day. Congress party and Mr Shinde should remember this."

Sharad Yadav, JD-U President: "Mr Shinde has been given an important post by the Congress.  He should confine his remarks to that on his (Home) ministry.  He should not comment on political issues. "

Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena executive president: "Mr Shinde's remarks reflect the attitude of the UPA government."

Shahnawaz Hussain, BJP spokesperson: "Taking care of the victims in Assam and Naxal hit areas is his duty, he should rather focus on that instead of doing jokes... If he wants to be an entertainer, he may be in cabinet meeting but not at a public platform. Let the comedian Raju Srivastava do his job, why Shinde is keen to take his place?"


(With agencies inputs)