Coalgate: BJP lauds SC for slamming Govt., CBI for 'missing files', slow probe

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday supported the Supreme Court for pulling up the government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for their tardy pace in probing the coal block allocation scam and the missing files, and said that an FIR must be filed immediately on the missing files.

"The credibility of the government is being questioned after the Supreme Court slammed the government for missing files because we have known this from the start that the government is trying to stall CBI enquiry to save the Prime Minister. Coalgate Files can't walk out of Ministry on its own, someone has taken them out. We agree with the apex court that an FIR must be lodged on the missing files immediately. And we will raise this issue tomorrow in the Parliament," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told media here today.

The Supreme Court earlier in the day slammed the government and the CBI for the 'slow pace' of the coal allocation probe and the missing files linked to the allocation of coal blocks to private parties at throwaway prices.

According to reports, the CBI had said it had not received crucial files from the government to investigate 13 FIRs or police complaints it had filed in the case. The agency had claimed than some 225 files it had asked for were 'missing', but the government told the court in an affidavit that only seven files are missing.

Supreme Court also came down heavily on the CBI, which had earlier assured that it would complete the coal probe in four-five months.

Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on August 18 admitted that some files from 1993 to 2004 were missing and a committee headed by an Additional Secretary of the ministry is inquiring into it.

"It's true that some files from 1993 to 2004 are missing. We are trying to get the copies of those files ready," Jaiswal said.

Jaiswal further said that the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDI), Ministry of Steel and Ministry of Cement have also been asked to return the files if they have them.