Ministers rush in to defend PM in coal allocation case

Three Union Ministers today came out in defence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coal allocation case, saying he needs no certificate of honesty and that the allotments were made on recommendations of state governments.
"The entire nation knows about the commitment and honesty of the Prime Minister. He does not need any certificate from any quarter to prove his honesty," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters.
The opposition BJP has demanded the Prime Minister's resignation following allegations by former Coal Secretary P C Parakh that Singh knew about the allocation of coal blocks to companies and that he too should be named as a "conspirator" and made an "accused."

Parakh had said yesterday that the final decision lay with the Prime Minister who held the coal portfolio at the time.
When asked about Parakh's allegation, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said the Prime Minister has not committed a crime by signing the letter. He also said agencies like CBI should not undermine investor sentiment.
The CBI had registered an FIR against Hindalco Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Parakh and others on charges of criminal conspiracy and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of two coal blocks - Talabira II and III in Odisha in 2005.

The government has nothing to hide, Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy said.

"As far as the government is concerned, we have made it very clear that the allocation of coal blocks have been made to public sector undertakings and also to some of the private sector on the recommendation of the state governments," he told reporters here.
The chief secretaries of state governments where coal blocks are available are members of the committee.
"The committee has cleared it (coal blocks allocation)," the minister said.
On the booking of Birla and Parakh, Narayanasamy, whose ministry deals with the CBI on administrative matters, said, "I do not want to go into merits of anything."

"Some of my colleagues also made some observations. The kind of trend is coming is not good for the country. That much alone I can say," the minister said.