New Delhi: A massive scam, six times more in worth than the 2G spectrum allocation scam, is the latest to hit the Manmohan Singh government with the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) draft report putting the government in the dock over allocation of coal blocks.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Thursday morning as opposition lawmakers waved copies of The Times of India, which published the CAG report titled Performance Audit Of Coal Block Allocations.
The CAG estimates the government lost revenue of at least Rs 10.67 trillion, much higher than the 2G scam in which it had estimated loss of revenue to the tune of Rs1.97 trillion.
A total of 155 coal blocks spread across the country was allocated to many companies, including 100 private companies, by the government between 2004 and 2009 without auction to give undue benefits to power, steel and cement companies in both government and private sectors.
"It is a serious scam, the Prime Minister must answer," the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded in the Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who held the coal ministry for most of the period in which the alleged scam took place, however, refused to give clarification.
"We are examining the new report and I have called for record. After that I will reply," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said, adding that he was not holding the coal portfolio in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-1 government.
"The coal allotment scam is a major scam. We demand a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe and a court should monitor the probe. It is a government of scamsters (that is) involved in knee-deep corruption," BJP leader Prakash Javedkar said.
The Left Parties and even the Samajwadi Party, which has been supporting the UPA government from outside have demanded the CBI probe into the alleged scam.
