New Delhi:
Following Law Minister
Ashwani Kumar's resignation on Friday, the focus in the coal scam could now shift to government officials from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Coal Ministry, who have been slammed by the Supreme Court for tinkering with the Central Bureau of Investigation's probe report, which was meant to be for the court's eyes only.
On May 8, while examining a nine-page CBI affidavit that detailed three "significant changes" made by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and these officials, to a draft of its coal report, the Supreme Court had observed that "the heart of the report was changed on the suggestion of government officials." The changes were made during a meeting called by the Law Minister, which was attended by CBI director Ranjit Sinha and the country's top law officer Attorney General GE Vahanvati.
The changes were made during a meeting called by the Law Minister, which was attended by CBI director Ranjit Sinha and the country's top law officer Attorney General GE Vahanvati.
The court was critical of the access given by the CBI to Shatrughan Singh and AK Bhalla, joint secretaries at the PMO and coal ministry respectively, and had asked "what business" they had in looking at the report.
Further, the court had noted that the changes made to the CBI's Preliminary Enquiry 2 Report dealt with coal allocations from 2006 to 2009 - when the coal portfolio was held by the Prime Minister - and said, "Everyone wants to look at PE 2 Report and make changes."
The Opposition has maintained that it's not enough for the Law Minister to quit and wants the Prime Minister to resign as well. "I would like to appeal to the Prime Minister to introspect and figure how the faith of the people in nation's politics can be reinstated. I believe that if Prime Minister does an honest introspection, then the only option he will find is that of resigning," BJP President Rajnath Singh said.
The "coal-gate" scandal revolves around allegations that the UPA government adopted a flawed policy in allotting coal fields to private firms.