Lucknow:
The Congress counter-attacked the BJP on the coal allocation scam by accusing of undermining the government's achievements, saying that the "unprecedented development" during UPA's rule has rattled the Opposition party.
Senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh and Ghulam Nabi Azad addressed the media in Lucknow today as part of the party's strategy to take on the BJP's challenge. "To make roads, hospitals and rural infrastructure, we need cement, steel and power," Mr Azad said. "There has been unprecedented growth. If there not had been a slowdown, India would have been the fastest growing economy and that is what is bothering the BJP."
Accusing it of trying to subvert India's growth story, the Congress further said that the BJP was suffering from 'paralysis' as it was not allowing Parliament to function. This was in reference to the complete washout of the Monsoon Session of Parliament as an adamant BJP demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, holding him responsible for coal blocks being given away as favours to corporates.
"The criticism against the UPA is that we do not take any decisions and there has been a policy paralysis. We have taken decisions, but the paralysis lies somewhere else...The paralysis lies in not taking the decisions forward, but sitting and stalling Parliament," Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal said today.
The Congress reiterated again today its charge that the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on coal block allocation pointing to a 1.86 lakh crore scam was notional. Mr Azad said that the CAG had said that if the blocks had been auctioned, the government would have made that much money. "Where does it come from?" he asked, adding that there no system of auctioning coal.
Mr Singh said that it was the state governments, including BJP-ruled ones, who had opposed auctioning of coal blocks. He also took a shot at the CAG, saying that its draft report had put the figure of loss at Rs 10.5 lakh crore, but later brought it down to Rs 1.86 lakh crore.
Attacking the BJP, Mr Singh said that the party was "loudly and repeatedly" lying about the coal scam, so that "people believe its true".
The BJP held up the entire Monsoon Session of Parliament, demanding the resignation of the prime minister, holding his responsible for coal blocks being given away as favours to corporates.
(With inputs from PTI)