New Delhi: Firing a fresh salvo on the coal blocks allocation issue, the BJP on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister's Office had favoured Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay by allotting two coal blocks on his request to a company. The BJP produced a letter purportedly written by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahay on February 5, 2008 seeking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "personal intervention"...
08:43 PM, Aug 28, 2012
New Delhi: The coal war between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress stalled Parliament for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday. Both the Houses were adjourned till Thursday as the Opposition MPs continued to demand Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the CAG report on coal blocks allocation, alleging that he was morally responsible for the huge loss to the state exchequer due to the faulty policy of giving...
03:38 PM, Aug 28, 2012
New Delhi: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report on Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) has slammed the PSU for poor performance, static production and lowest drilling efficiency in the sector. The report said that the company did not complete work in 74 per cent of its blocks and that its exploration costs overshot target by a huge margin. "ONGC made lesser discoveries than Reliance...
01:41 PM, Aug 28, 2012
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's argument that the CAG's calculations in the coal blocks allocations were flawed has found favour with economic experts. Siddharth Zarabi of CNBC-TV18 on Monday said that the PM's argument was based on essential economic logic. "The basic flaw in the premise is that you cannot compare any average cost of production in Coal India with any start up operator. It's completely two comparisons which...
08:56 AM, Aug 28, 2012
New Delhi: Hitting back at the BJP for targeting the prime minister over the coal scam, the Congress-led UPA government on Monday said that the opposition stalling parliament is a black spot for democracy and slap on the face of people who elect their representatives. Speaking to the media, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered to debate the coal allocation and the Bharatiya Janata...
04:31 AM, Aug 28, 2012
New Delhi: As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faced criticism for debunking the CAG findings on the allocation of coal blocks, sources in his office said on Monday his statement in parliament was on a report and not on the constitutional body. Sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) took pains in the evening to explain that his remarks that the Comptroller and Auditor General's report was "flawed and clearly disputable"...
03:00 AM, Aug 28, 2012
New Delhi: Union Minister Vayalar Ravi on Monday hit-out at the CAG accusing it of having crossed its Constitutional mandate and "trying to become a super government." "CAG report has crossed the Constitutional provisions and now the CAG man is trying to become a super government and he wanted to go into everything what government does...", he said. Ravi, incharge of Overseas Indian Affairs, said there was a Constitutional limit...
02:21 AM, Aug 28, 2012
New Delhi: Leading the counter-offensive on the coal block allocation issue, Congress President Sonia Gandhi is expected to rally the party behind Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by making a strong attack on BJP at a party meeting on Tuesday. Gandhi will be addressing the general body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, which will be the first occasion for her interaction with party MPs after the controversy broke out. Her...
01:57 AM, Aug 28, 2012
New Delhi: Rejecting BJP's charge that bribes were paid to it in coal blocks allocation, the Congress on Monday dared it to make public any proof it had and asked the opposition party to "look within" as its former president had been jailed for graft. Stung by the Opposition's continued tirade against the Government on coal block allocation, the ruling party also questioned the legal mandate of the CAG to...
12:27 AM, Aug 28, 2012
The Prime Minister on Monday claimed that the CAG report on coal allocation is disputable. ...
11:42 PM, Aug 27, 2012
Confronted with a paralysed parliament and an unrelenting opposition, the Prime Minister and his government tried to put up a strong defence outside the house. But it seems to have little impact on the BJP. ...
10:26 PM, Aug 27, 2012
The offensive by the government over the CAG report on the coal blocks allocation was on Monday led from the front by Prime Minister Manmohan, who made a statement in Parliament calling the report disputable. ...
09:46 PM, Aug 27, 2012
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is clearly eyeing the next Lok Sabha election and is confident of putting the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government on the mat on coal blocks allocation and corruption given the mood in the country. Even as Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram claimed that the government enjoys the confidence of Parliament and the people and there is no reason for it to seek...
09:10 PM, Aug 27, 2012
New Delhi: The offensive by the government over the CAG report on the coal blocks allocation was on Monday led from the front by Prime Minister Manmohan, who made a statement in Parliament calling the report disputable. He also claimed that the policy of allocation existed since 1993 and was followed by the earlier governments, adding that the UPA had introduced the auction idea in 2004. The Prime Minister also...
07:04 PM, Aug 27, 2012
New Delhi: Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh came out strongly in his defence over the coal blocks allocation, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made it clear that it had no faith in the Prime Minister or the government and demanded his resignation. The BJP also accused the Prime Minister of discrediting CAG and legitimising corruption. "A new pattern has come up, charges of corruption seem to be legitimised...
01:17 PM, Aug 27, 2012
New Delhi: The remaining part of the Monsoon Session of Parliament looks set for a washout with BJP adamant on resignation of the Prime Minister, though it stands isolated among opposition parties, many of whom favour a debate instead of disruption. Within NDA too, crucial constituent JD(U) is uneasy with BJP's stiff stand due to which Parliament has already lost one full week. BJP sources said the party will not...
03:22 AM, Aug 27, 2012
New Delhi: The government on Sunday night hit back at the BJP for defending obstruction in Parliament over CAG report on coal blocks allocation, saying the Opposition was running away from discussion as it feared that the debate will boomerang on them. "During their (NDA) regime one can walk in with the recommendations of the state government and walk out with coal block allocations. UPA changed that through transparent process...
10:57 PM, Aug 26, 2012
New Delhi: The CPI on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to "face Parliament" and said the government must own up responsibility for the huge loss to the nation on the coal block allocation issue. "The Prime Minister must face Parliament especially when it is in session. Disruption does not mean that he would not come to the House," party National Secretary D Raja said in New Delhi. He said...
07:09 PM, Aug 25, 2012
Karaikudi (TN): Hitting out at BJP for disruption of Parliament on coal block allocations issue, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday asked the party why it was not ready for a debate, daring it to face questions on allocations made during the NDA rule. "If the BJP has such a strong case, why don't they debate the subject in Parliament," he said, reacting to BJP leader Arun Jaitley's criticism of...
06:34 PM, Aug 25, 2012
Chennai: Former telecom minister Arun Shourie on Saturday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should be allowed to make a statement on coal blocks allocation controversy in the wake of CAG's findings, saying the Opposition gained nothing by stalling Parliament over the issue. "...Prime Minister was the Minister-in-charge (handling Coal Ministry). He must be given the opportunity to explain the facts as he sees them," Shourie, who was a minister in...
06:16 PM, Aug 25, 2012
