Coal review on Monday, BJP may soften its stand
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With unrelenting BJP pressure on the government, an inter-ministerial group will meet on Monday to review the allocation of 58 coal blocks.
It is learnt that the recommendations of the IMG would become the 'crucial basis' for the government to decide the fate of the blocks. It is possible that the IMG may recommend cancellation of blocks in cases of wrongful allotment and also in cases where mines have not yet been developed.
Meanwhile, fine-tuning the party’s strategy, the BJP on Sunday hinted at relenting a little by agreeing to allow a discussion in Parliament on 'Coalgate' provided the government cancelled coal block allocations and ordered an independent probe into their allotment.
In Mumbai, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, recounting her conversation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday, said, “I told Soniaji that coal block allocations should be cancelled and an independent and fair probe ordered. If you agree to both these demands, then we can start the discussion and Parliament can function.”
Ms Swaraj, however, reiterated her party has 'not backtracked on (demanding) the Prime Minister’s resignation'.
“We stick to our demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should resign accepting moral responsibility in the coal block allocation scam,” she said. “He is the first Prime Minister who is proud of his silence,” said Swaraj.
Referring to Dr Singh citing an Urdu couplet — “Hazaaron jawabon se achchi hai khamoshi meri... (My silence is better than thousands of questions)” — Ms Swaraj came up with her own: “Aap bolein to kaam bane, Khamoshi galat-faimiyaan badhati hain (It is desirable that you speak as silence breeds misunderstanding).”
Adding to what Ms Swaraj said, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, shifting the blame onto the Congress for the Parliament logjam, in his latest blog post said, “The NDA has offered to resolve the deadlock. The government is not yet prepared for this.”
Meanwhile, at a press conference in Kanpur (his Lok Sabha constituency), coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told reporters that any number of coal block allocations could be cancelled.
“An IMG has been set up to examine the pros and cons, and based on its report any number of allocations can be cancelled. But the IMG will give its report by September 15.”
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