Centre should CANCEL coal block allocation: BJP

Welcoming the Central Bureau of Investigation's raids on companies suspected to be involved in irregularities in allocation of coal blocks, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said the government should take a cue from this and cancel the allocation.

"We welcome the CBI raids. It is a good development. Taking a cue from this, the government should also cancel the coal block allocations. It should also reply in Parliament as to why it is not cancelling the allocations. It is clear that the government is not ready for a debate and is running away from it," said BJP deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde.

He was talking to reporters after the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in Delhi on Tuesday.

The CBI on Tuesday registered cases against five companies and unknown government officials as part of its probe into alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks and carried out searches across 10 cities.

The coal block allocation issue came up for discussion in the BJP meeting. The party top brass dwelt at length about the matter to educate Members of Parliament about the issue, including the CBI raids, the stand taken by Inter-ministerial Group and the reported differences on it.

BJP MPs will continue to disrupt Parliament and force adjournments on Tuesday as well as for the remaining three days of the Monsoon Session.

The party will also take the issue to the people by holding public meetings and demonstrations.