Cong plans legal cover for Singh in coal scam
20 Oct 2012 8:53 AM IST
The complaints the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] filed against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coal block allocation scam last month have upset the Congress leadership enough to seek advice on legal protection for him.
The BJP had sought the filing of FIRs against Singh in the alleged coal block allocations, prompting the government to conduct an exercise to ascertain how he could be safeguarded from any legal wrangling.
The BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha filed the complaints on 20 September in 790 police stations across the country, holding Singh responsible for the scam, sources in the party said. The youth wing wanted FIRs to be registered against the prime minister over the issue, the sources said.
Seeking to take protective measures, the home ministry sought an opinion from the attorney general G E Vahanvati on the issue. The attorney general, in his response given recently, is learnt to have said that the prime minister and ministers did not enjoy any legal immunity but the government need not be apprehensive at this stage as mere police complaints could not be a cause of worry, the sources said.
Every complaint cannot be converted into FIRs, as the police have to first convince itself about the merit of the case.
The BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, however, felt that the Congress should not seek immunity for the head of the government. He said, 'The prime minister is not above the constitution, and one should follow the due procedure. The prime minister should face trial.'
Some media reports said that the home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde met Singh after the BJP filed police complaints to discuss the possibility of Singh being questioned by the police. Shinde is said to have proposed the idea of seeking legal immunity for Singh.
The BJP had sought the filing of FIRs against Singh in the alleged coal block allocations, prompting the government to conduct an exercise to ascertain how he could be safeguarded from any legal wrangling.
The BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha filed the complaints on 20 September in 790 police stations across the country, holding Singh responsible for the scam, sources in the party said. The youth wing wanted FIRs to be registered against the prime minister over the issue, the sources said.
Seeking to take protective measures, the home ministry sought an opinion from the attorney general G E Vahanvati on the issue. The attorney general, in his response given recently, is learnt to have said that the prime minister and ministers did not enjoy any legal immunity but the government need not be apprehensive at this stage as mere police complaints could not be a cause of worry, the sources said.
Every complaint cannot be converted into FIRs, as the police have to first convince itself about the merit of the case.
The BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, however, felt that the Congress should not seek immunity for the head of the government. He said, 'The prime minister is not above the constitution, and one should follow the due procedure. The prime minister should face trial.'
Some media reports said that the home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde met Singh after the BJP filed police complaints to discuss the possibility of Singh being questioned by the police. Shinde is said to have proposed the idea of seeking legal immunity for Singh.
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