How the coal crackled
28 Aug 2012 8:03 AM IST
Encouraged by increasing cracks in the ranks of the opposition National Democratic Alliance, the Congress took the battle to enemy camp on Monday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, under attack for past one week for his alleged role in the coal block scam, forced his way and presented statements in both the houses despite the opposition creating a pandemonium.
The prime minister slammed the CAG report in Parliament as well as outside it. Calling it misleading and flawed, Singh gave a point-by-point rebuttal in his statement.
The prime minister asserted that being in-charge of the ministry when the allocations were made, he took 'full responsibility for the decisions' and 'that any allegations of impropriety [were] without basis and unsupported by the facts'. Strongly attacking the opposition for disrupting Parliament, he dared them to debate this issue in the house, as, he said, '[the government had] a very strong and credible case' and as CAG 'observations' were 'clearly disputable'.
Sources in the Congress said that the party would now wait and watch, as they had put the ball in BJP's court. 'The PM has made the statement. It is for the BJP to counter it on the floor of the house,' said the party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit. Supporting the views expressed by Singh, his cabinet colleagues P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Ambika Soni later said in the evening that the BJP was 'hijacking' Parliament and 'running away' from a debate.
THE SUAVE LAYWER IN JAITLEY COMES OUT AS HE TAKES ON SINGH POINT BY POINT ON CORRUPTION
Despite close allies Janata Dal [United] and Shiromani Akali Dal [SAD] deserting the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] on the issue of leaving Parliament in logjam, the BJP on Monday launched a spirited counter attack on the government.
The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj alleged that it was the Congress that had benefited from the coal blocks allotment and if an independent investigation took place the prime minister and the Congress would find themselves in the dock. 'The only heartening thing in the prime minister's statement is that he has taken responsibility and now he should take moral responsibility and resign,' said Swaraj.
The leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley asked the government to cancel all 142 coal blocks that were given away mainly to private parties and auction them afresh. 'Only then will the truth or otherwise of the PM's statement be known. In the 2G case, history vindicated CAG,' he said of the second generation spectrum scandal.
Although the BJP's insistence that the prime minister should resign does not have the backing of the entire opposition, his comments on Monday seemed to unify the opposition parties. The Left parties and the Telugu Desam Party also demanded that the coal block be auctioned after cancelling the existing allocation.
Jiatley denied that the BJP was isolated within the National Democratic Alliance. 'Even if we have to stand alone, it would be a magnificent isolation,' said Jaitely, thus making it clear that the party can go alone if the need arises.
The prime minister slammed the CAG report in Parliament as well as outside it. Calling it misleading and flawed, Singh gave a point-by-point rebuttal in his statement.
The prime minister asserted that being in-charge of the ministry when the allocations were made, he took 'full responsibility for the decisions' and 'that any allegations of impropriety [were] without basis and unsupported by the facts'. Strongly attacking the opposition for disrupting Parliament, he dared them to debate this issue in the house, as, he said, '[the government had] a very strong and credible case' and as CAG 'observations' were 'clearly disputable'.
Sources in the Congress said that the party would now wait and watch, as they had put the ball in BJP's court. 'The PM has made the statement. It is for the BJP to counter it on the floor of the house,' said the party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit. Supporting the views expressed by Singh, his cabinet colleagues P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Ambika Soni later said in the evening that the BJP was 'hijacking' Parliament and 'running away' from a debate.
THE SUAVE LAYWER IN JAITLEY COMES OUT AS HE TAKES ON SINGH POINT BY POINT ON CORRUPTION
Despite close allies Janata Dal [United] and Shiromani Akali Dal [SAD] deserting the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] on the issue of leaving Parliament in logjam, the BJP on Monday launched a spirited counter attack on the government.
The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj alleged that it was the Congress that had benefited from the coal blocks allotment and if an independent investigation took place the prime minister and the Congress would find themselves in the dock. 'The only heartening thing in the prime minister's statement is that he has taken responsibility and now he should take moral responsibility and resign,' said Swaraj.
The leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley asked the government to cancel all 142 coal blocks that were given away mainly to private parties and auction them afresh. 'Only then will the truth or otherwise of the PM's statement be known. In the 2G case, history vindicated CAG,' he said of the second generation spectrum scandal.
Although the BJP's insistence that the prime minister should resign does not have the backing of the entire opposition, his comments on Monday seemed to unify the opposition parties. The Left parties and the Telugu Desam Party also demanded that the coal block be auctioned after cancelling the existing allocation.
Jiatley denied that the BJP was isolated within the National Democratic Alliance. 'Even if we have to stand alone, it would be a magnificent isolation,' said Jaitely, thus making it clear that the party can go alone if the need arises.
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