BJP today asked Congress to answer the issues raised in the book of former Coal Secretary P C Parakh on coal blocks allocation scam and claimed CBI did not carry out proper investigations in the matter.
The party asked if it is true that there was a quid-pro-quo through which decisions were arrived at outside the government and conveyed to the PMO and why UPA did not act against officers of the Coal Ministry and the PMO who tried to influence the CBI report.
It also asked the government how relevant files went missing in the scam and why investigations done by CBI were "superficial" and why the guilty were not identified.
"Congress should answer the questions raised by former Coal Secretary P C Parakh regarding the coal block allotment through his book. BJP's stand is vindicated by this first person account as to how Congress manipulated the process of coal block allocation and rejected a proposal of competitive bidding," BJP Spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
He said it is established that the coal block allocation was non-transparent and due diligence was not followed deliberately to benefit hand-picked Congressmen and others.
Javadekar alleged 17 billion tonnes of coal reserves worth Rs 50 lakh crore were distributed on a platter to 140 private companies and the CBI investigation was launched by the CVC on the basis of complaint of two BJP MPs.
"Government tried to influence the investigation and indulged in a massive cover-up of the scam," he alleged, adding if what Parakh is saying is right, then the "investigations are superficial".
Javadekar said "the government is going but it cannot wash away the responsibilities. It will have to reply."
"Why comparative appraisal was not carried out of all the applications? Why the reasons of allotment to a particular party and reasons for rejecting other applications were not recorded? Why the PM did not overrule the objections by his ministers for the competitive bidding?," he said.
