New Delhi, September 3
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today assured the Parliament of initiating a thorough probe, including by the CBI, if the missing coal files remain untraceable. The Prime Minister’s explanation, however, failed to convince the incensed Opposition members who disrupted proceedings in both Houses.

They demanded a direct response to their “unanswered questions” from the Prime Minister, who walked out soon after making his statement.

Angry protests were witnessed as the BJP accused the government of being “insensitive” towards its senior leaders LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha, and Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha.

The Prime Minister asserted that the government had “nothing to hide” and that its intent to facilitate probe in the coal block allocations should not be questioned, triggering further protests from the Opposition, which termed it an effort to “mislead” the country.

“Let me assure this august House that the government has nothing to hide,” Manmohan told the Rajya Sabha and then the Lok Sabha in a statement.

He said all efforts were being made to locate the “so-called missing files” and the CBI would be asked to investigate if the efforts did not fructify. The government would abide by the timeline set by the Supreme Court for handing over all files, but no “hasty” conclusion should be made to suggest that something was “fishy”, he said. Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had told Parliament on August 23 that 189 documents related to the coal block allocations had gone missing.

Though Sushma and Advani were “not allowed” to put across their views in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha saw a combined Opposition gunning for the Prime Minister, demanding that “moral responsibility” be assigned for the missing files.

“There has been an attempt to mislead this House. It (the case) has every conceivable element of bad governance as it involves fraud, contempt of court, breach of privilege, conflict of interest and destruction of evidence,” said Jaitley.

He also wanted to know whether the government had registered any report, started booking the guilty and taken any efforts to retrieve the documents.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury maintained that the government was deliberately not registering a formal complaint, while the SP, the BSP, the AIADMK and the Trinamool Congress sought a clarification on the time period of the missing files.

The BJP, which is incensed over the way the Prime Minister walked out without waiting to listen the responses of its senior leaders, warned the government about the “simmering sense of profound discomfort in its MPs over the government’s reaction” to their concerns.

Senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told mediapersons they suspected it to be a concerted effort by the government “to save the high and the mighty”.

He cautioned the ruling party against misconception that the Opposition was only there to “do government work and all accountability will take a back seat”.

“Running the House is not just the responsibility of the Opposition,” he asserted, reminding the ruling party of its co-operation while clearing the Food Bill through late night sittings in both Houses.

Accusing the government of a “brazen cover-up” on the missing files, the CPM said crucial questions had been left unanswered by the Prime Minister in his statement.

Let me assure this august House that the government has nothing to hide…. If the records in question are indeed found missing, the government will carry out a thorough investigation and ensure that the guilty are brought to book.
— Manmohan Singh, PM