New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday urged former coal secretary PC Parakh not to be afraid and speak fearlessly on the coal blocks allocation scam. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha also demanded that the Prime Minister comes clean in the case.
""I appeal to Parakh to not be afraid and speak without fear. Parakh is correct in saying that PM is accused No.1 in this case," BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said.
Sinha's statement came after the CBI registered an FIR against Parakh for alleged irregularities in the allocation of two coal blocks to Kumar Mangalam Birla in Odisha. Parakh said that if there was a conspiracy to help industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla for his firm, then the Prime Minister must be counted among the conspirators too as he had cleared the decision.
Sinha went on to say that he was not surprised by Parakh's revelations as the Prime Minister was the coal minister when the allocations were made.
However, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said that he doubted the timing of Parakh's outburst. He stressed that other officials in the coal ministry and the PMO should also be probed.
Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said that Parakh was a free man, but he should make a statement before the CBI. BJP should not forget that allocation policies were same in NDA period too, Digvijaya added.
Talking on the controversial statement made by Parakh, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said that the matter was under investigation by the CBI.
"It is not right to comment on the case as of this moment," Tewari said. He claimed that the former coal secretary was making 'irresponsible statements' and that the government was cooperating with all the investigating agencies.
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