Congress lashes out at BJP over coal block issue

Lashing out at the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday for its stand on the coal controversy, the Congress alleged that there was a clear similarity between the anti-Bofors campaign and the present one on the coal blocks allocation.

"Between 1985 and 1990, there was a campaign after the CAG report on Bofors against Rajiv Gandhi, with foreign journals also publishing articles. There is a similar pattern to it from 2009 to the present times," said Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, who is also in-charge of the party affairs in Uttar Pradesh.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's report on Bofors could not be proved even by the non-Congress governments at the Centre. Since 2009-2012, there is a similar campaign on 2G and coal allocation, Singh said.

A pattern to the coverage in the foreign media can also be seen between these two periods, Singh said, alleging that the BJP wants to make a false incident into an issue.

Recalling as to how the then CAG T N Chaturvedi went on to become a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Singh alleged that perhaps the present incumbent is also trying to follow in his footsteps.

Singh asserted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the United Progressive Alliance government believed in complete transparency.

Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad also lashed out at the BJP for stalling the proceedings of the House on the coal allotment issue, stressing that had they really wanted the truth to come out before the people, they would have opted for a debate.

Unlike earlier occasions, when the Opposition demanded a debate, this time the government and the prime minister were ready for it, but not the BJP, as they knew that it would expose them and they would not be able to face the people, Azad said.