New Delhi:
After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Supreme Court today that a senior bureaucrat in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had seen its confidential report on the coal scam investigation, the BJP today said that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh must resign.
Speaking to NDTV, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said, "This has gone well beyond the Law Minister now. The Prime Minister's Office must explain in what context was a PMO official shown the draft of the coal report?"
The CBI has admitted to the Supreme Court that a version of its report on how the government mishandled the allocation of coal fields to private firms was seen before it was shared with judges last month by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, and bureaucrats in the Coal Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.
Mr Jaitley said that it is imperative to know whether government officials asked the CBI to change its report and whether the agency complied. "The coal draft report must be made public so that it can be compared with final report," Mr Jaitley said.
The BJP also said that the list of changes that were suggested were emailed to the PMO. "Where are the emails from PMO officials on the coal report? The affidavit has smashed claims of no interference by government. The buck stops at a complete truth being coming out. And the complete truth is to what extent was the status report altered? And if the PMO was involved in it, I think this should conclude the Lokpal debate as far as the question of autonomy and independence of the CBI is concerned. The government has been caught really with its pants down," Mr Jaitley said.
The government has reportedly decided to take its cue on whether the Law Minister should resign from the next Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday.