Coalgate: PM faces heat, Parakh wants him as No.1 accused

"If there is a conspiracy, then there are different members to it. If CBI thinks there is a conspiracy, then there are three conspirators. KM Birla, me and PM, who was the final decision maker," Parakh said.

"This baseless allegation by the CBI does not deserve any consideration. CBI should answer questions about why my name has been included," Parakh hit out.

Industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, Parakh and others have been booked by CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of two coal blocks in Odisha eight years back.

Explaining his stance, Parakh said, "The allegation is that Talibara 2 block has been allotted to a private company, Hindalco and therefore there is an undue benefit to a private company. The case was for this block there were two applicants. One was Hindalco, which was the first applicant and the second was Neyveli Lignite Corporation. Both of them were equally competent and fulfilled all criteria which are required for allocation of the coal block."

"In the screening committee we took the decision that since Neyveli is a government company, is a Public Sector company, we should give preference to Neyveli Lignite Corporation. At that point of time Mr Birla made a representation to PM, saying that we made the first application for this block, we are equally eligible and competent for allocation of this block. He said that their request had been unfairly rejected and should be reconsidered. Mr Birla also met me and made a similar representation, I examined the issue and therefore made a proposal that along with Neyveli, Hindalco should also be included in this block. Both of them were advised to form a Joint Venture," he added.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with the decision. It was a very fair and correct decision that we took. I don't know why CBI thought that there is a conspiracy," Parakh said.

"But, if there is a conspiracy, then there are different members in this conspiracy. There is K M Birla who made the representation, he is one conspirator. I, who examined the case and made a recommendation, I can be another conspirator and the Prime Minister, who as the Coal Minister, took the final decision, is the third conspirator.

"So, if the CBI thinks there is a conspiracy, why did they choose and select Mr.Birla and me and not the PM. If conspiracy is there, then everyone is part of the conspiracy," he told television channels, adding that after Shibu Soren resigned as Coal Minister, the Prime Minister had then directly taken charge of the ministry.

Reacting to Parakh's statements, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said, "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."

On the other hand, Digvijaya Singh of Congress said, "He is a free man, instead of making statements he should say what he wants in front of CBI."

Parakh was named in the latest chargesheet filed by the CBI along with industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and his company. In fact, Parakh, a geologist-turned IAS officer of the 1969 batch of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, who now lives in Hyderabad, was described as the coalgate whistleblower and the inclusion of his name in the CBI chargesheet has surprised many following the scam closely.

Parakh was appointed Union coal secretary in March 2004 and despite several attempts by ministers in the UPA government to unseat him remained in that post till he retired in December 2005.

Although the Centre had decided to open the coal sector for discretionary allocations in 1993, it was only in May 2004, after the UPA government took over, that the allocations actually happened in big numbers. As coal secretary, Parakh headed a screening committee whose job was to hand over lucrative coal blocks for mining to private companies. According to sources, the beneficiaries of such allocations were companies that made political contributions to the Congress-led coalition.

Parakh was also against the screening committee's approach of subdividing a coal block so that more companies could be accommodated. He proposed that the discretionary allocation of coal blocks be scrapped and replaced with competitive bidding. Parakh then moved a cabinet note recommending that the Coal Mining Act be amended with the help of an ordinance to bring about competitive bidding of coal blocks. The ordinance was nixed.

Interestingly, while Shibhu Soren and Dasari Narayana Rao were the coal minister and minister of state respectively when the UPA government took over in May 2004, at the time when Parakh moved the cabinet note seeking the scrapping of the selective allocations of coal blocks in favour of competitive bidding, Soren had to resign due to political reasons and it was Manmohan Singh who was in-charge of coal ministry. The PM headed the ministry between July 2004 and November 2004, when Soren was reinstated.

According to sources, not only Soren, but several MPs tried to get Parakh removed as coal secretary. Under pressure, the officer opted for voluntary retirement but in fact retired on his official date of December 2005. A few months ago, Parakh was of the view that the PM should have put his weight behind competitive bidding.