Govt has nothing to hide on missing coal files: PM

Cornered by the Opposition, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh made a statement on the issue of missing coal block allocation files in Parliament.

Zee Media Bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar

New Delhi: Cornered by the Opposition, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday made a statement on the issue of missing coal block allocation files in the Parliament. Dr Singh said that the government has nothing to hide on the issue and is making all efforts to locate coal papers and stressed that it would be premature to deem them as missing. The Prime Minister also hit out at the propensity by some to draw conclusions of wrongdoing. “Disregarding the factual position some members have gone ahead and drawn their own conclusions that there is something fishy”,” the PM said. “Let me assure this august House that the Government has nothing to hide. Government is making all efforts to locate coal papers; at this stage too early to say coal files are missing,” he added. Manmohan Singh pointed out that a vast majority of the papers sought by the CBI have already been handed over to them while pointing out that government`s intention to facilitate the process of investigation cannot be called into question. He said, “More than 150000 pages of documentation have already been handed over to the CBI show our intention to facilitate investigation.” “If records in question are missing, the govt will carry out a thorough investigation and ensure that the guilty is booked,” he said. The Prime Minister also brought the attention of the house to the fact that matter of allocation of coal blocks is sub judice as the apex court is looking into all aspects of these allocations. “The govt shall follow directions (of the SC) in letter and spirit and do its best to locate and hand over the requisite papers to the CBI,” he said.