 "Coal files: PM says guilty will be punished, Oppn dissatisfied")
Amidst attack from the opposition, he insisted in Parliament that the government is making all efforts to locate the untraced documents and its intent to facilitate a proper probe should not be questioned as it has "nothing to hide".
Contending that there should be no "hasty" conclusion that something is "fishy", he said a "vast majority" of papers sought by CBI have already been handed over and the government will abide by the Supreme Court timeline for handing over of all the files.
More From This Section
"I would like to emphasise that the government is making all efforts to locate the papers requisitioned by the CBI and, at this stage, it would be premature to say that some papers are indeed missing," Singh said in identical statements in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on demands by members.
"Let me assure this august House that the government has nothing to hide," he said.
Promising action, he said, "If the records in question are indeed found missing, the government will carry out a thorough investigation and ensure that the guilty are brought to book ...If the government is unable to locate some of these papers within the stipulated time, then as directed by the court, a report will be filed with the CBI for appropriate inquiry/ investigation."
He said, "A vast majority of the papers sought by the CBI have already been handed over to them. However, disregarding the factual position, some members have gone ahead and drawn their own conclusions that there is something fishy and the government is hiding something."
His statement, however, led to a major uproar in both Houses and stalling of proceedings for rest of the day as the Opposition expressed dissatisfaction.
They wanted to seek more clarifications but were upset as the Prime Minister left soon after making the statement in both Houses.