The Opposition on Monday vociferously raised in the Rajya Sabha the issue of crucial files of the coal ministry going missing, alleging that it was a conspiracy to save Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the multi-crore-coal block allocation scam being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The government on Friday told the Rajya Sabha that seven files, 173 applications and nine other documents pertaining to coal block allocations were not traceable and efforts were on to locate them
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may intervene in the discussion on several files pertaining to coal block allocations going missing, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said on Thursday.
The Central Vigilance Commission has convened a meeting with Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha to discuss the missing files with details of coal block allocations.
At least a dozen activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress were on Sunday injured in a clash, which broke out during the main opposition party's protest outside Union Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal's residence in Kanpur over the coal block allocation issue.
The government on Friday said the auction of explored coal blocks may take place either by December or the beginning of the next year.
Claiming that Rahul Gandhi's 'padyatra' will not only impact Uttar Pradesh but the country as a whole, Union Minister for Coal Sriprakash Jaiswal on Friday said the leader is following the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi to revive national politics.
Once seen as a spokesman of the government on internal security matters, Sriprakash Jaiswal was on Wednesday elevated to Cabinet rank and retained in the coal ministry. A three-time Lok Sabha member from Kanpur, Jaiswal's elevation to the Cabinet rank comes at a time when elections are scheduled in Uttar Pradesh, where he served as the state unit chief of the Congress. He has shed the portfolio of statistics and programme implementation.
The coal ministry submitted to the Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday a detailed report on the missing files pertaining to coal block allocations, said an official.
Main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday once again targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Rajya Sabha on missing files pertaining to coal mines allocation saying the scam is "monumental" and demanded that he clarify on it.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday asked Minister of State for Coal, Statistics and Programme Implementation Sriprakash Jaiswal to make inquiries into the death of an 8-year-old Kanpur boy Aman Khan. The parents have blamed Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's security for their son's demise and alleged that he died due to roadblocks erected during the prime minister's recent visit to Kanpur.
Thirty-five of the 77 Union ministers have failed to file annual details of their assets and liabilities before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh even over a month after the passage of the deadline.
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will start the party's general election campaign in Uttar Pradesh next month from the Congress bastions of Kanpur, Jhansi and Bahraich.
Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal on Thursday said if his party fails to get a majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, it will seek imposition of President's Rule in the state, a remark that drew a sharp response from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The government on Monday came under sharp attack on the issue of crucial files of Coal ministry going missing, with the Opposition alleging that it was a conspiracy to save Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coal block allocation scam and demanding an impartial probe into it.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his deputy Minister of State for Home RPN Singh on Wednesday rejected the allegation levelled by 2007 Ajmer blast accused Bhavesh Patel that they had pressured him to implicate top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionaries in the case, saying they do not know him.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, shifted to Kanpur Lok Sabha seat from Varanasi to accommodate Narendra Modi, on Friday made a veiled attack on sitting Congress MP and Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, saying he never imagined that one day he would have to fight elections from "constituency of people whose names cropped up in coal gate scam."
Amid strong opposition from CIL workers union to the proposed stake sale in the company, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said the disinvestment proceeds of about Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) from the coal behemoth will be invested in public sector banks.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday raked up the issue of terrorism to attack Bharatiya Janata Party, saying nearly 22,000 people died due to the menace during the NDA regime, while there were only 800 such deaths in the UPA's last five-year tenure.
Dr Singh's modified sher; Sonia's moti chaal; Coaching Sriprakash Jaiswal... All this, and more, in this edition of Dilli Gupshup.
Committed to keep fiscal deficit under check, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a high-level meeting on Tuesday to push forward the disinvestment programme with a view to achieve the budgetary target of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) in the current fiscal.
The economy can't grow without increasing electrification, which requires more power plants, and given coal is the cheapest form of fuel and is abundant, it makes sense that India is looking to boost the use of the fuel.
Dr Manmohan Singh's role in the sordid saga of the Coal Allocation Scam was always Delhi's worst-kept secret; calls for his interrogation will mushroom after he was named by P C Parakh, says T V R Shenoy.
The Association of Democratic Reforms in its lartest report has noted serious discrepancies between lump sum amount that political parties declared to have given to their candidates for election expenditure, and the actual amount received by the candidates. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot intoned, "Recent incidents will certainly dampen business confidence and investment sentiment, both domestic and foreign; and perhaps also negatively affect decision making by bureaucrats and policy makers."
The Prime Minister directed that a special cell be created immediately in the Cabinet Secretariat.
