Indian prime minister, 14 ministers accused of graft

New Delhi: Team Anna on Saturday renewed its attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, alleging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and 14 cabinet ministers were involved in massive corruption.

Besides Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna also figured in the 79-page document prepared by Team Anna purportedly showing their alleged involvement in various cases.

"We have sent the documents to the prime minister. An independent probe should be ordered into the allegations, which include around 15 cabinet ministers," lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who is a leading member of Team Anna, told reporters here.

Team Anna questioned the role of Manmohan Singh in the coal scam which recently came to light. According to a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), mining rights for coal blocks had been allocated without auctioning them and this led to massive profits for some chosen private firms.

The prime minister was in charge of the coal portfolio from November 2006 to May 2009.

"Under his watch, a major coal allocation scam took place, which allowed private firms to make windfall gains, as is clear from the facts that are now out in the public domain and the report of the CAG," said the documents released by Team Anna.

Investigation

Team Anna said that during his tenure as finance minister P. Chidambaram overruled the officers of his own ministry who favoured auction, market-based pricing of spectrum, and instead allowed the 2G scam to take place.

Bhushan also said that Pranab Mukherjee during his tenure as defence minister did not order any investigation in the Scorpene deal despite the media's detailed expose in the issue. This submarine deal was signed between India and France.

"We demand that the government conduct an independent enquiry into all these matters. And if nothing happens, there will be a movement from July 25, in which people will decide what to do," said Arvind Kejriwal, another Team Anna member.

Other cabinet ministers named by Team Anna include union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel, Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Virbhadra Singh, Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal, Law Minister Salman Khurshid, among others.