Former coal secretary P C Parakh on Tuesday said that if the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had looked at the coal blocks scam case reports carefully, there would have been no need to examine former prime minister Manmohan Singh when the latter had additional charge of the coal portfolio.
"If the CBI was thinking that there had been a conspiracy, they should take note of the fact that Kumarmangla Birla and I were not behind it as the decision was not taken by us. It was taken by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who was also the coal minister at that time," said Parakh.
"The minister of state as well as officials of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) were involved in the issue but the CBI filed an FIR only against the two of us knowing that there were more people involved. They were not being completely honest," he said.
"If they had carefully seen all the files in the preliminary stage there would have been no requirement for an FIR. There would have been no need to examine the prime minister as well a nothing new will come out of examining the ex-PM in coal scam case. However, I cannot day why he wasn't examined in the entire Coalgate case," he added.
Earlier today, a special court was told by the CBI that it was not allowed to examine former prime minister Manmohan Singh in connection with the coal block allocation scam case, when the latter had additional charge of the coal portfolio.
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The investigating officer (IO) told the court that PMO officials were examined during the probe in the coal blocks scam case involving top industrialist K M Birla and former coal secretary P C Parakh, and it was found that statement of the-then coal minister was not necessary. The IO, however, clarified that the then coal minister was not permitted to be examined.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was holding the portfolio of coal ministry when Birla's firm Hindalco was allocated coal blocks in Orissa's Talabira II and III in 2005.
During the hearing, the court directed CBI to file the case diary before it after which the Senior Public Prosecutor V K Sharma said the agency be allowed to file these documents in a sealed cover.
"I deem it appropriate that let the case diary files and crime files of the present case be summoned and as per the request of Senior PP, let it be produced in the sealed cover," the judge said and posted the matter for further proceedings on November 27.
