New Delhi, Aug 28 (ANI): Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Tuesday expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s statement on coal blocks allocation issue, and said that the former should admit who should be held responsible for such a huge loot.
Raja said the Prime Minister’s statement is just a cover up and doesn’t answer to several questions.
“The CAG has said it clearly, the natural resources were looted, private companies have gained to the tune of 1.86 lakh cores.
The Prime Minister on one hand says I take full responsibility, but the next sentence the Prime Minister says that the allegations are false. Then he goes on to question the CAG, the calculations can be disputed. Then he goes on to blame all state governments,” said Raja.
“So, somewhere down the line, some accountability has to be fixed, responsibility has to be fixed. The Prime Minister should admit who should be held responsible and accountable for such a huge loot, plunder of our natural resources,” he added.
Raja further accused the ruling Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of adopting a rigid attitude and not allowing the Parliament to function smoothly.
“There is stalemate. To run the Parliament is the primary responsibility of the government. It is also the equal responsibility of the principal opposition party. Both are taking rigid stands,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said the government is trying its best to end the deadlock in Parliament.
” Both Speaker of the Lok Sabha and chairman (presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha) are trying. But it seems that the BJP has decided not to let Parliament function. They are running away from discussion. They are running away from debate because their chief ministers are involved,” he said.
Proceedings in both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the sixth day today on the coal blocks allocation issue.
Prime Minister Dr. Singh, who is facing sharp criticism from the opposition over the CAG report on coal block allocations, earlier on Monday said that his ‘silence is better than a thousand answers, as it keeps intact the honour of innumerable questions’
“Hazaron jawabo se achchi hai khamoshi meri, na jaane kitne sawalo ki aabru rakhe,” said Dr. Singh, asserting this has been his ‘general attitude’.
“It has been my general practice not to respond to motivated criticism directed personally at me,” he added
The Prime Minister also rejected the CAG’s observations as ‘misleading’ and ‘flawed’, and blamed the opposition parties for thwarting the efforts of his government to bring a policy of competitive bidding.
Dr. Singh, who spoke both inside Parliament as well as outside, took ‘full responsibility’ for the decisions taken by the Coal Ministry whose charge he directly held for some time and asserted that at ‘any allegation of impropriety is without any basis and unsupported by facts’.
The BJP has held the Prime Minister, who then held direct charge of the coal ministry, responsible for what has been estimated as a notional loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crores by the CAG in coal block allocations, and demanded his resignation.
The CAG report on coal block allocations states that nearly 150 coalfields were allotted to private and state-run firms without transparency and objectivity between 2005 and 2009.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/d-raja-upset-with-pms-statement-on-coal-blocks/
