The Government should not cancel the allocation of coal blocks that are under the scanner after CAG report just because there is a “political” demand to do so, Industry body CII said on Friday.
“Every thing should go by the law. Action (cancellation of coal blocks) should not be taken because there is a political demand (for it),” CII President Adi Godrej told reporters here.
Reiterating his stand that there is no need to cancel all the coal licences as being demanded by the principal Opposition BJP, Godrej said the Government can’t unilaterally take such a decision without giving out details.
Action should be taken if there are clear signs that law has been violated, he said.
CAG has said the Government suffered a presumptive loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in coal block allocations during 2004—2008, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the coal portfolio.
This has led to a washout of the Monsoon Session of Parliament as BJP has been demanding PM’s resignation, besides the cancellation of all the coal blocks allocated.
Expressing concern on the state of the economy, Godrej said there is a crying need to revive growth by taking forward the much-awaited reform process.
“Growth can be revived because there are no structural issues. The current slowdown is a cyclical problem that can be tackled through policy initiatives,” he said.
Refusing to comment on a recent article in US daily `Washington Post’, which has made critical comments about the performance of Prime Minister, the noted industrialist said however that there is a need to improve perception about India.
