PM to intervene in Lok Sabha over missing coal files

Scalded by the Opposition attack on missing files related to coal block allocation, the government on Thursday agreed to an intervention by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The government came under all-round attack in the Lok Sabha (LS) with members demanding “immediate presence” of the prime minister in the House to explain how the files could have gone missing.

“What can we do if the prime minister refuses to come to the House when such a serious issue has arisen,” said Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.
“As these files relate to important political people, it has only been done deliberately to cover up the whole operation and in order to ensure that the guilty is not punished,” Gurudas Dasgupta of the CPI said.

Basudeb Acharia of the CPM termed the issue “the biggest scam ever in the country, amounting to a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore,” and wanted to know whether the government had lodged an FIR to find out who was responsible for the missing files.

M Thambidurai of the AIADMK, JD-U president Sharad Yadav and SP’s Reoti Raman Singh also raised the issue. The Rajya Sabha  also witnessed an uproar over the issue leading to an adjournment.

Replying to the concerns voiced by members, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said: “The government has nothing to hide and nothing to conceal. The coal minister is ready to make a statement in the House. Thereafter, a discussion can be held in this House in which the prime minister will intervene.”

The Lok Sabha plunged into turmoil as Kamal Nath moved a motion to suspend four TDP and six Congress members for disrupting House proceedings repeatedly. However, a similar assurance in the Rajya Sabha saw the House return to normal.

The Lok Sabha saw a brief discussion over the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, submarine incident and Uttarakhand floods. Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal is expected to make a statement on Friday which will be followed by a discussion immediately after Zero Hour, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said.