Amid reports of alleged interference in the Central Bureau of Investigation's probe into the coal scam, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley on Saturday demanded the constitution of a special investigation team to probe the scam.
His demand came in the wake of a report in The Indian Express, which claimed that the probe report submitted by the CBI to the Supreme Court about the scam was "toned down" on the suggestions of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and officials of the Prime Minister's Office.
He also accused the United Progressive Alliance of being a "rogue government" which will not allow the CBI to function independently.
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'This is a very serious matter'
Photographs: Jayanta Dey/Reuters
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha also accused the government of "interference in the administration of justice" by not allowing the CBI to acquaint the apex court with the full truth.
"The CBI cannot find out the truth and even if some honest officer in the CBI tries to find out the truth, the UPA is a rogue government which will not allow it to operate independently," Jaitley told reporters.
His Lok Sabha counterpart Sushma Swaraj criticised the government for "vetting" of the CBI report and said it is part of "an attempt to save Prime Minister Manmohan Singh".
"This is a very serious matter. This is evidence of the government's pressure on the CBI to save the prime minister," Swaraj said on Twitter.
Jaitley said the UPA is interested in "diluting the guilt of the culprits" and does not want the truth to come out.
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'The government owes an explanation'
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
"When ministers, civil servants and officials try so that the Supreme Court is not acquainted with the full truth, this is interference in the administration of justice. The government owes an explanation," the BJP leader said.
He also demanded that the CBI's original unaltered report be made public and placed before the Supreme Court.
He said the scam shows that the allocation of coal blocks were a "tainted" issue and "a case of nepotism" as the favourites of the government were allocated coal mines even when power plants in the country are starved of coal.
"These facts now conclusively show that the CBI will not be honestly allowed to investigate this case and therefore the system will have to seriously consider whether a SIT should take over the investigation of the coal scam. The coal scam probe should be handed over to a SIT for the truth to come out," Jaitley said.
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