Coalgate: BJP demands PM's resignation

Intensifying its attack on the government over the coal block allocation scam, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sacking of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. The BJP Parliamentary Party which met here under the chairmanship of L K Advani passed a resolution in this regard and charged the government with suppressing the truth from coming out in the coal scam. The principal opposition party had stalled Parliament on Monday over the issue and demanded that the Law Minister make a statement on his alleged role in vetting the CBI affidavit for the Supreme Court on the coal scam investigation. "The BJP Parliamentary Party today has resolved that in the light of the series of scams and the present way in which the government has sought to suppress the truth from coming out, Dr Manmohan Singh must resign and the Law Minister Ashwani Kumar must be sacked," BJP Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after the meeting. He said the party has formally demanded that the PM must resign and the Law Minister be sacked. Mr. Prasad said the party is of the opinion that the UPA government under Dr. Singh has "destroyed" and "subverted" every institution in the country. "The UPA government first indulges in corruption and then subverts institutions to suppress the truth. It stands exposed before the country. The UPA government has forfeited its right to govern. BJP demands that the Prime Minister and the Law Minister resign immediately," the BJP leader said. Stepping up its attack, he said the government only wants a discussion on corruption and is not ready for any honest audit on it. Mr. Prasad alleged, "The Prime Minister's Office and the Law Minister have blatantly interfered in the functioning of the CBI while investigating the coal block allocation scam." The BJP Parliamentary Party also discussed the JPC draft report on 2G and former Telecom Minister A Raja's contention that whatever actions he took were in the knowledge of the Prime Minister and decisions taken after consulting him. Asked if it would raise the issue again in Parliament, Mr. Prasad said, "We will raise the matter. This government is running away. It does not want an honest discussion. This government does not allow us to question it on the irregularities committed by it. We will not support the government." On whether both Houses of Parliament will run smoothly on Tuesday, the BJP leader said, "It is the duty of the government to run Parliament smoothly." He alleged that there is a conscious attempt to suppress the unravelling of the truth. "And this suppression is sought to be done at the highest level," he said. Taking on the Law Minister, he said, "Since when does CBI need an English tutor like the Law Minister...More particularly when the Supreme Court has specifically restrained the Government of India and the CBI lawyer from sharing the contents of the affidavit with anyone." Mr. Prasad said despite the assurance given by the Additional Solicitor General in March that contents of the CBI affidavit had not been shared with any political authority, the government has "misled" the Supreme Court and now "a very fake alibi is being given that the Law Minister was correcting the grammar of the affidavit. This is preposterous, laughable," the BJP leader said.