Patna:
Supporters of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare stormed into a restaurant in Patna today where Congress minister Jyotiradtiya Scindia was holding a press conference.
The activists got into a fight with Congress supporters, and were removed by the police.
"I will meet them, and will answer their questions. I have no problem in that," Mr Scindia said soon after the incident.
Mr Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce, was meant to talk about the current coal scandal which paralysed the Monsoon Session of Parliament which ended just a few days ago, with virtually no business being transacted. The Congress has deputed its senior leaders and ministers to different cities to refute allegations that it implemented a faulty coal policy that led to the country losing thousands of crores.
The issue has been seized by the Opposition BJP to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister, and to accuse his government of allowing one scam after another in its different departments. Anti-graft activists close to 74-year-old Anna have cited the coal scandal as the latest example of a government seething with corruption.
Last month, the national auditor released a report which said that by delaying the introduction of an auction process, the government allowed windfall benefits to private firms who were given coal fields at a fraction of their true market worth. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) did not indict the Prime Minister directly, but the fact that he was Coal Minister when most of the sales were allowed has put the government on the defensive.
The CBI is investigating companies who allegedly faked their finances and technical expertise to gain coal blocks. An inter-ministerial group will announce later this week which companies will lose their coal fields because they are so far behind schedule that they will not begin mining even by March next year.
In several cases reported in the media, and among those being scrutinised by the CBI, there is evidence that politicians and their families were part owners of companies that won coal fields, more evidence of crony capitalism at work in the Indian economy.