Manmohan Singh rejects impropriety in coal blocks allocation

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In a statement to Lok Sabha on Monday amid shouting by BJP members, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejected charges of impropriety in the allocation of coal blocks as 'without basis' and not supported by facts.

Defending the decision of the Coal Ministry when he was then in-charge of the portfolio, he said the observations of the CAG were 'clearly disputable'.

Further, Manmohan Singh said he was taking responsibility for decisions of Coal Ministry whose charge was with him during the period assessed by CAG.

'The coal blocks allocation policy existed since 1993 and previous govts also allocated blocks in precisely the manner that the CAG has now criticised,' he said.

Further, he said the opposition ruled state like West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Rajasthan were strongly opposed to switchover to competitive bidding.

Speaking outside the Parliament, the PM said CAG observations would be challenged when the matter comes before Parliamentary Committee (PAC).

He said the government has a strong and credible case in the coal blocks allocation scam which the CAG report said had resulted in a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to the nation.

Manmohan Singh appealed to the opposition to come back to the House to debate on the issue and let the country to judge where the truth lies.