BJP to raise Coalgate, Ashwani Kumar's conduct

Law Minister allegedly made changes in the CBI report on coal scam before it was submitted to the apex court

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will tomorrow again raise the issue of the changes made by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s status report to the Supreme Court on the process adopted by the government to allot coal blocks.

“The issue is simple and straight. The Supreme Court had ordered restraining the CBI from sharing the report with anybody in the government. Despite this, the law minister vetted and even made changes in the CBI report. Ashwani Kumar has not denied reports that the meeting took place in his office (where the alleged vetting was done). The CBI is accountable only to the Supreme Court for the report,” Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.

The BJP further maintained that similarly, the law minister is responsible to Parliament for his conduct.

The party also attacked the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which is facing allegations of involvement in the coal block allocations, where anomalies have come to light.

“Why blame the law minister? The PMO intervened. There are e-mails between the PMO and the CBI,” said Yashwant Sinha, former finance minister and BJP leader, said.

Others in the BJP said unless Kumar clarified his stand in Parliament, the House would not function.

The CBI will now respond on April 25 to a query by the Supreme Court as to whether at any stage the government intervened or amended the status report. In its affidavit, the CBI is expected to concede that it did.

“There are only two courses for the CBI. If it says the government did not intervene, it may be in danger of perjuring itself. If it says the government did and names the minister, the law minister may have to resign,” said a government official.

In anticipation of this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath yesterday said there was no reason for Ashwani Kumar to resign.

At the heart of the issue are the Supreme Court’s observations in the Vineet Narayan case which prescribes half a dozen ways to make the CBI an independent, autonomous body. Then Chief Justice of India, Justice J S Verma wrote in his order that while a minister can monitor the CBI, “all the powers of the minister are subject to the condition that none of them would extend to permit the minister to interfere with the course of investigation and prosecution in any individual case and in that respect, the officers concerned are to be governed entirely by the mandate of law and the statutory duty cast upon them.”