New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court came down heavily on the government and the Central Bureau of Investigation for sharing the coal scam probe report, Attorney General GE Vahanvati met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday. Law Minister Ashwani Kumar had also reached the PMO to meet Manmohan Singh but he was not given an appointment.
Vahanvati, Ashwani Kumar and the two officials of the PMO and the Coal Ministry have been accused by the CBI in its affidavit of suggesting changes to its report on coalgate. Vahanvati, however, has sought to deflect charges against him, saying he never sought a copy of the report and that he acted as per the instructions of the Law Minister. "My meeting with CBI officials took place only on suggestions of the Law Minister," he had told the SC.
Meanwhile, sources have said that decision on the Law Minister's fate could be taken in the next 48 hours. Pressure has been building up on the Prime Minister to sack Ashwani, whom many within the Congress reportedly look at as a liability following the CBI's allegations.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani also took potshots at Manmohan Singh saying he was defending Ashwani because his removal will place his position vulnerable. ...
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01:57 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday ruled out any action against Law Minister Ashwani Kumar in the coal scam case saying that the Supreme Court, hearing the CBI affidavit, did not name him anywhere during its observations. "There is no need for any action against Ashwani Kumar till a final court order," PMO sources said. The Congress also sought to reject charges that the CBI was under its control. "The...
05:12 PM, May 08, 2013
Catch the day's top stories with Rajdeep Sardesai on India @ 9. ...
11:34 PM, May 06, 2013
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to tell the Supreme Court on Monday that the agency's status report on coal scam was changed by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. The details of the CBI affidavit, which it will submit before the Supreme Court on Monday, has been accessed by CNN-IBN. The CBI has reportedly made it clear in its affidavit that the status report was shown to...
01:18 PM, May 05, 2013
The Supreme Court has made scathing remarks on the present government while hearing the coal scam case. It has gone to the extent of labelling it as a massive breach of trust that has shaken the foundations of the country. How does the country's main Opposition party expect the ruling coalition to respond to these allegations? BJP's spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue....
05:00 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: In the wake of embarrassing comments against the government by the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said any action required will be taken after he studies the observations made by the top court. "I have not studied the Supreme Court's observations. Whatever action is called for will be taken after studying it," the PM told reporters. His remarks came when asked to comment on the embarrassment faced...
03:12 PM, Apr 30, 2013
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its affidavit on the coal block allocation scam report with the Supreme Court, in which the agency's director Ranjit Sinha has said the draft of the report was shared with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, a charge that the Congress has been rejecting. The director has also said the draft of the report was even shared with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) ...
11:49 PM, Apr 26, 2013
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its affidavit on the coal block allocation scam report with the Supreme Court, in which the agency's director Ranjit Sinha has said the draft of the report was shared with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar "as desired by him", a charge that the Congress has been rejecting. The director has also said the draft of the report was even shared...
11:39 AM, Apr 26, 2013
Citizen Journalist Dhananjay Dubey shows pictures of his courageous brother Satyendra Dubey - who was brutally murdered in November 2003 for fighting corruption. Whistleblower Stayendra ...
05:02 PM, Apr 22, 2013
New Delhi: Against the backdrop of reports that the government had allegedly vetted CBI's report on the coal block allocation scam, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar is learnt to have met top officers on Saturday to discuss the ramifications and the future course of action. Sources said during their meeting Kumar is learnt to have discussed the issue with ministry officials. There are indications that the Law Ministry is inclined to...
11:07 PM, Apr 13, 2013
A report in 'The Indian Express' says the CBI probe status report in the coal scam was "vetted" by the law minister and PMO officials. While the BJP is now demanding an impartial SIT probe, the Congress is playing down the issue. ...
07:23 PM, Apr 13, 2013
New Delhi: The government will "soon" decide on the new CAG and would take a call whether to make it a three-member body at an "appropriate time", Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy has said. "It (name of CAG) will happen soon. The Finance Minister will recommend a candidate to the Prime Minister, who will approve it and send it to the President for announcing," he told...
08:43 PM, Apr 11, 2013
Kolkata: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday taunted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) with a claim that it comes out with official response to issues raised by him during any speech even before he concludes it. "I have been observing off late. Wherever I make any speech, even before my speech gets over, the PMO tweets answers to it. From the PMO!" he told a programme organised by state...
10:56 PM, Apr 09, 2013
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Monday termed as "factually incorrect" a media report which suggested that it had agreed with the then Telecom Minister A Raja's actions in 2007 before 2G scam and said the notings cited in the report could not be construed as the Prime Minister or his office looking the other way. ...
09:45 PM, Mar 18, 2013
In a fresh twist in the battle for minimum wages for workers under MNREGA, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has yet again written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposing a solution to the standoff between the UPA government and activists over the right of MNREGA workers to get minimum wages, as notified in the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, in each state. ...
11:14 AM, Mar 10, 2013
Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasamy slammed the Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi for his direct attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress. Modi, while addressing the BJP's National Executive meet in New Delhi on Sunday called PM Manmohan a "night watchman" appointed by the UPA and Congress "termites". ...
08:02 AM, Mar 04, 2013
The central government is committed to passing a strong Lokpal (ombudsman) bill in parliament to curb corruption, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told social activist Anna Hazare via a letter, sources said on Monday. ...
02:20 AM, Jan 22, 2013
Morgan Stanley plans to cut 1,600 employees starting this week, two people familiar with the matter said on January 9, in the latest sign of a pullback on Wall Street as revenue from trading and deal-making remains in the doldrums. The staff reduction pertains to Morgan Stanley's institutional securities unit - which includes sales, trading and investment banking, and whose staff will be reduced 6 per cent - as well...
11:49 AM, Jan 10, 2013
New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday rejected a claim by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi that Sir Creek was being "handed over" to Pakistan. In a letter to Modi, the PMO said, "The writing and release of this baseless letter by the Chief Minister of Gujarat in his personal capacity, a day before elections in the state, is mischievous." Responding to a letter written by Modi to Prime...
08:20 PM, Dec 12, 2012
New Delhi: In a boost to the tourism industry, India has relaxed its tourist visa rules by lifting restrictions imposed on foreign visitors to have a two-month cooling off period between subsequent visits. However, citizens of Pakistan, China, Iran, Iraq, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sudan and people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin and "stateless persons" will continue to come under the 60-day gap rule. The restriction was imposed in 2009 after the...
01:48 PM, Dec 04, 2012
