Manmohan Singh can’t shy away from responsibility in coal scam: Govt

“The issue is very simple that he (Singh) was the coal minister when this scam took place. Nobody has charged Singh with corruption, but definitely he was the signatory for all the illegal allocations.

“All the bad allocations were signed by him and this is what Congress did to him (Singh),” Javadekar said in response to allegations by Congress that the BJP-led government was pursuing a political vendetta against its leaders.

The government earlier refuted claims that the CBI examination of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in connection with the coal block allocation case was a “vindictive” act on its part.

“(The) government has no role at all… Congress is speaking in two voices. While one person says (the  examination) is vindictive, another spokesperson says it is part of a legal process,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said.

“They (the Congress leaders) should sit down and decide on what to speak… It is the hobby of Congress to go into disinformation campaign without knowing what they are talking,” he said.

Naidu was asked to comment on reported remarks of some Congress leaders that the questioning of Singh was a vindictive act on part of the Narendra Modi government.

One Congress leader had, however, reportedly said that there was no need to politicise the case as it was part of a legal process.

Naidu said a special CBI court had also questioned the CBI for not examining Singh in the case.

“Many people were asking why the former Prime Minister was not questioned because he was the minister for Coal at  that time. So naturally he has to respond to the charges even if he was the Prime Minister,” the Union minister said, adding a former coal secretary had also questioned why Singh was not examined by the CBI as he was the minister in-charge of Coal.

A team of CBI officials had examined the former Prime Minister at his residence three days ago ahead of the filing of status report before a special CBI court by January 27.

Singh’s examination was in connection with a coal scam case relating to allocation of Talabira II block to Hindalco when he was also holding the portfolio of coal, and in pursuance of the court’s December 16 order.