Cong stands exposed on coal scam, alleges BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain reiterated on Monday that his party was firm on its demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should resign over the coalgate issue because "he is directly responsible for the corruption".

"It is also important for impartial probe in the scam," he added, while addressing a press conference outside Parliament.

The former minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government also alleged that the Congress stands exposed as it has refused to meet the two conditions of Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj during her conversation with Sonia Gandhi to break the logjam and allow the Parliament to function.

"She (Swaraj) made it clear to Sonia Gandhi that all the coal block allocation should be cancelled and government should institute a fair probe into the coal allocation which has caused a loss of 1.86 lakh crores. If A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi could go to jail for their involvement in the scams, why prime minister shouldn't meet the same fate and resign from his post," he said.

When asked if BJP would accept a probe like Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had asked for, Hussain said that Mulayam was still a part of the government and 'how can they agree to what he and communists want?'

"The SP's purpose is to bail out Dr Manmohan Singh. He has accepted the moral responsibility but would not resign. If Mulayam wants a fair probe then he should pull out of the government first and then talk about other things including a judicial probe. Wasn't it Mulayam who unveiled the booklet highlighting the achievements of UPA II in three years of its office? Incidentally coal was one of the topics," Hussain pointed out.