CAG’s remarks on coal block issue disputable: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said CAG’s observations on coal block allocation issue were disputable and asked the opposition to debate the matter in Parliament to allow the country to judge where the truth lay. “I am sorry that the House is not allowed to function and the BJP is determined to disrupt the proceedings of Parliament. I wish to assure the country that we have a very strong and credible case,” he told reporters outside Parliament House after the opposition disrupted his speech in Lok Sabha. “Once again I appeal to the opposition to come back to the House to debate on these issues and let the country judge where the truth lies,” Singh said.

The Prime Minister said that he wished to make a statement in the House onthe issue but the opposition did not give him the opportunity. Singh said CAG’s conclusions on the coal block allocations were “disputable”. “The observations of CAG are disputable and they will be challenged when the matter comes before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee,” he said. He appealed to the opposition to allow Parliament to function. Singh quoted an Urdu couplet to convey that he wanted to clear the air on the issue but the opposition is unrelenting.