PM questions CAG maths, BJP sees big kickbacks

Singh resorts to poetry in self-defence, BJP says will ensure monsoon session a washout

In a statement in both Houses of Parliament that was barely audible, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the Rs 1.86 lakh crore assessment of the Comptroller and Auditor General on account of losses and corruption in coal block allocations was inaccurate.

But the Opposition said the PM and the government deliberately delayed a more transparent system of allocation of the natural resource because it was a source of political funding. “Mota maal mila hai (big money was made),” said leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, alleging the United Progressive Alliance had got bribes in return for allocating coal blocks, which went up from 70 between 1993 and 2006 (33 of which were given to public sector units and private companies during the NDA regime) to 142 coal blocks between 2006 and 2009.

The PM’s response was to quote Ghalib: “It has been my general practice not to respond to motivated criticism directed personally at me. My general attitude has been: Hazaaron jawabon se acchi hai khamoshi meri, na jaane kitne sawaalon ki aabru rakhe (better than a thousand answers is my silence; who knows the dignity of how many questions it protects).”

THE PM’S TAKE

• Allocation of coal blocks to private firms for captive use commenced in 1993 
• UPA-I for the first time conceived the competitive bidding route in June 2004 
• His govt improved the procedure in 2005 by inviting applications through open ads 
• In a PMO meeting on July 25, 2005, representatives of coal- and lignite-bearing states opposed switch to competitive bidding 
• West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Rajasthan, ruled by Opposition parties, were strongly opposed to competitive bidding 
• Stopping allocation, in the meantime, would only have delayed coal supplies

However, the Congress-led UPA government and the party were clear about two things: no amount of disruption of the House would lead to a sine die adjournment of the monsoon session; and rather than give in to the BJP’s strong-arm methods, it would seek a discussion on the PM’s statement under Rule 193 (which does not entail voting) in the Lok Sabha tomorrow to buttress its allies. A Bill to set up AIIMS-like institutions all over the country was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday to restore the business-as-usual spirit. The BJP was equally determined not to let the session run. “This session is gone. We will review our strategy for the next session,” said BJP managers.