Congress on Tuesday rejected demands for the resignation of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and downplayed reports of his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following reports that CBI report to the Supreme Court on coal blocs allocation scam was vetted by the government.
“There is no question of resignation,” party spokesperson Rashid Alvi said when asked whether the Law Minister could be asked to resign following the news reports that claimed the contents of CBI’s status report on the coal mines allocation probe were shared with Ashwani Kumar and officials of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
As a section of the media reported that Mr. Kumar was on Tuesday summoned by the Prime Minister, Mr. Alvi feigned ignorance about the meeting but questioned what was so big in a minister meeting the Prime Minister. “I have no idea if the Prime Minister called a minister or the minister himself. But it has no great meaning. If ministers do not meet the Prime Minister, whom else do you expect them to meet? There is no great thing in his meeting the Prime Minister,” Mr. Alvi said.
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He also said people should wait for CBI to file its status report as “truth will come out” then.
Facing criticism for alleged toning down of its report filed before the Supreme Court on coal scam probe under political influence, CBI on Tuesday said it is not under “any pressure from any quarter”.
The agency had filed a status report on March 8 with regards to its probe in the alleged irregularities in the coal allocation scam.
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The agency had not denied the alleged meeting between CBI officers and the Law Minister.