PM rules out immediate cancellation of coal blocks

BJP has demanded cancellation of 142 coal blocks but the Prime Minister is of the view that this could not be done immediately,the sources said.

Singh has made it clear that he was ready to fight it out with the opposition on the issue and was ready to give answer to every question raised by the BJP,they said.

Earlier,Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said the coal block allocation issue was being probed on two fronts – one by the CBI and other by an Inter-Ministerial Group — and that cancellation cannot be resorted to before the IMG gives its report by September 15.

The Prime Minister had on Friday attacked the BJP for disrupting Parliament proceedings and asked it to respect the verdict of the people and let the government function.

“In a Parliamentary system,the majority has a right to rule. If the BJP feels that the majority cannot be trusted to govern the affairs of this country and they would like to run it their way that is a total negation of what the democratic politics is about,” he had told journalists,while returning from Tehran after attending the NAM Summit.

The Prime Minister’s Office has put up Singh’s statement on its website.

The Prime Minister had hit out at BJP for “diversionary tactics” on the coal allocation issue,rejecting its demand for his resignation and hoped “good sense” will prevail on the opposition party which disrupted Parliament.