Rahul Gandhi accuses Mamata Banerjee of not directly fighting the BJP, alleging that this indirect approach benefits the ruling party. He also criticised her government's performance on job creation and handling of corruption.
The Congress on Saturday rejected the charge of interference in the preparation of the Central Bureau of Investigation's report in the coal scam for the Supreme Court and ruled out resignation of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar in this regard.
The CBI on Monday questioned relatives of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee in connection with its investigation into the multi-crore coal pilferage case.
Just a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh celebrated two years of the UPA-II rule, the Bhartiya Janata Party slapped a Rs 85,000-crore (Rs 850 billion) coal scam on him, claiming his direct culpability in the 'loot' as he held the portfolio between 2006 and 2009 since after coal minister Shibu Soren had resigned.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded the resignation of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar over allegations of government's interference in CBI's probe into coal blocks and suggested that the Supreme Court should appoint a Special Investigation Team to bring out the truth.
A Bharatiya Janata Party delegation led by senior leader L K Advani will meet President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday to discuss the coal scam. Advani will be accompanied by Murali Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley and they are expected to apprise Mukherjee of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's role as coal minister between 2006 and 2009.
After a year and a half of investigation, the agency has failed to name any public official involved in the scam.
In a slow-moving justice delivery system, the fact that Law Minister Ashwani Kumar is still in the government is not surprising. In the sound and fury of the war between Attorney General G E Vahanvati and Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal, the most important factor is not being given enough attention.
Dr Singh said he was upset but expressed confidence that truth will prevail in a fair trial.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday announced that it will launch a nationwide agitation from September 17 to demand Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation on the coal allocation issue and cancellation of the blocks, besides an impartial probe by a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team.
A day after the Supreme Court issued notice to CBI director Ranjit Sinha for allegedly protecting some accused in 2G case, another bench on Tuesday sought explanation from the top cop on similar allegations in the coal scam.
Did the principal secretary to the prime minister authorise the controversial meeting a joint secretary at the PMO had at the CBI headquarters to discuss the coal scam report, asks T V R Shenoy.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed poll rallies in West Bengal, attacking Mamata Banerjee's TMC and promising development if the BJP wins the state elections. He accused Banerjee of appeasement politics and vowed to prevent the construction of a Babri Masjid-like structure in Bengal.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday suspended the three-year jail term of former Union minister Dilip Ray in a coal scam case pertaining to irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand block in 1999.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI investigation into the role of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior police officials and others for allegedly obstructing its raids in Kolkata against political consultancy firm I-PAC and its director in connection with an alleged coal scam.
Replying to questions on Dr Singh's statement on Thursday that he was ready to face CBI in the matter as he has nothing to hide, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Soorjewala said that the prime minister has "stated the obvious as nobody in the country is above the law".
Koda, Basu and two accused public servants conspired to favour VISUL in the coal block allocation, the agency alleged.
The coal-scam has taken an important turn as the Central Bureau of Investigation has charge-sheeted former bureaucrat P C Parakh and industrialist Kumarmangalam Birla. The next big thing is to see that if the coal-blocks allotted, fraudulently, are cancelled or not either by Supreme Court or by the government as pre-emptive action.
CBI has registered 18 FIRs so far in the coal scam.
The Supreme Court questioned the West Bengal government regarding its objection to the maintainability of the Enforcement Directorate's plea concerning alleged obstruction by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a raid, focusing on the fundamental rights of ED officers.
The CBI opposed the plea seeking summoning of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and two others as additional accused in a coal scam case.
The apex court-appointed panel is investigating alleged scuttling of probe into coal block allocation scam cases by Sinha whose meetings with accused persons have been held as "completely inappropriate".
A day ahead of filing a crucial affidavit in the Supreme Court on coal scam which has rocked the United Progressive Alliance government, Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha on Sunday affirmed that the agency's probe into the matter was "clean and clear" and that no accused or suspect had been let off.
Under attack for allegedly meeting officials of companies accused in 2G scam, Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ranjit Sinha on Thursday said that he would recuse himself from the ongoing probe in Coal scam if the Supreme Court ordered so.
The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern over the Enforcement Directorate's allegations of obstruction by the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during raids related to a coal-pilferage scam. The court intends to examine the matter and has also taken note of the commotion at the Calcutta High Court during hearings related to the case.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march in Kolkata against Enforcement Directorate searches linked to I-PAC, signaling a show of strength ahead of the 2026 assembly polls. The march featured cultural elements and participation from party members and celebrities.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to file its status report in the coal scam before the Supreme Court on Tuesday stating details of its 14th FIR against Hindalco and others and also progress in the remaining 13 cases.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to question Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal on Friday in connection with a case of alleged cheating and criminal conspiracy in bagging Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Birbhum in 2008.
The Trinamool Congress MP, considered number 2 in the party, also advised Shah to teach nationalism to his son and make sure that the law and order situation improves in Delhi.
The court has now fixed the matter for scrutiny of documents on September 29.
The FIR relates to allocation of Talabira II and III coal blocks in 2005.
An impartial probe into the coal scam can only take place once Prime Minister Manmohan Singh steps down from office, Bharatiya Janata Party said on Friday in reaction to his offer to face CBI in a coal block allocation case.
The court noted that Gupta made 'dishonest misrepresentation' before the then prime minister.
The CBI on Friday told a special court that former coal secretary H C Gupta had allegedly concealed facts from then prime minister Manmohan Singh.
This is the first coal scam case in which the special court has delivered its judgement.
The CBI had interrogated Rujira in February last year ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections.
The central government has admitted before the Supreme Court that 189 out of the 236 documents sought by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing coal block allocation scam, is "not-available".
Chennai-based photographer Ramya Sriram explains how she captured the fiery and hypnotic Theyyam image that won her the National Geographic India Contest
According to sources in the agency, the counsel had been briefed about its stand which includes informing the apex court about 'certain moles' in the probe agency who were providing documents to people outside.
'Officers have been made the scapegoat for political failure.' 'No effort has been made to find out who scuttled the prime minister's decision to introduce competitive bidding and why and at whose instance.'
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