New Delhi:
Faced with an India Inc that is livid at leading industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla being accused of cheating by the CBI, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma today reached out saying the government values India's corporate leaders like Mr Birla and that their integrity cannot be questioned.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, the minister warned that in the midst of an economic crisis "if every (policy) decision made is questioned, if every person is questioned, if an atmosphere of fear is created, this country will suffer."
On Tuesday, Mr Birla, the 46-year-old head of the Aditya Birla group and among India's best-known industrialists, was charged by the CBI of cheating and conspiracy. The agency has alleged that undue favour was shown in giving mining rights in 2005 to Mr Birla's company, Hindalco, which makes aluminium.
The CBI is investigating how and why the government assigned valuable coal licenses to private firms without an auction or transparent bidding process in what is called "Coal-gate" or the coal block allocation scam.
The Commerce Minister said today that there was nothing wrong in corporate leaders pleading their case before ministers. "It is their right," Mr Sharma said, referring to Mr Birla having presented his case to the Prime Minister in 2005 on why his company should be given a mining licence.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held charge of the coal ministry for some of the years under scrutiny, making the scandal hyper-sensitive for the government. The main opposition party, the BJP, has once again said that Dr Manmohan Singh should be investigated for his alleged role in "Coal-Gate."