Ahead of the crucial hearing on Coalgate in Supreme Court on Tuesday, the Government faced fresh trouble with Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal claiming he was being made a scapegoat on charges of misleading the Court.
Sources said the ASG has written a four-page letter to Attorney General GE Vahanvati, and accused him of being party to the alleged attempt by the Government to influence the CBI's investigation in Coalgate.
Raval has pointed out that the Attorney General was himself present at the meeting convened by law Minister Ashwani Kumar where in the presence of CBI Director Ranjit Sinha the status report was discussed.
In his letter, a copy of which has also been sent to the law Minister, Rawal has said that he answered to the Court to the best of his knowledge and the AG should have clarified the matter because he was aware of the facts.
The CBI is all set to replace Raval with senior advocate UU lalit, who is assisting them in the 2G case, on Tuesday.
It was Raval who had stated to the court that the status report submitted to it in a sealed cover was not shared by the political executive.
The bench headed by Justice RM lodha had sought a statement on oath by the CBI Director Ranjit Sinha to this effect. His two-page affidavit given to the court admits that the report was indeed shared with the law Minister, Joint Secretary in the PMO and
the Coal Ministry, as desired
by them.
It will be a nightmarish Tuesday for UPA bigwigs as the SC's hearing on allegations of the Government vetting the CBI's report in the coal scam can spell serious trouble for the law Minister as well as officials of the Prime Minister's Office.
It will also add fresh fuel to the Opposition's demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation.
The Congress has so far dismissed all demands for the law Minister's dismissal, but his position could become untenable if the CBI were to tell the court that he suggested or carried out changes in the status report during his meeting with the CBI Director and other officials last month.
However, the buck is unlikely to stop at Ashwani Kumar's door. It would be interesting to see what explanation the Government has to offer to the court for PMO officials inspecting the report before it was filed in court. This could be a serious case of interference in the probe because Manmohan Singh's role in the grant of coal blocks is also under the scanner.
Deputy leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday again targeted the Prime Minister. "Is this not a case of rank falsehood and misrepresentation of facts before the apex courtIJ Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval, who appeared for the CBI, misled the Court. After this, is it not a case of the Government becoming a colluding party in suppressing the factsIJ And Mr Prime Minister you have the audacity to say that the entire world is laughing at us," the BJP leader said.
The CBI is expected to submit in court on Tuesday a sealed cover containing the draft status report and the corrections made at the level of law Minister, PMO and Coal Ministry. This could pave the way for the court to take over monitoring of the coal scam investigations or direct a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to oversee the ongoing probe.
On March 12, the previous date of hearing, the bench had passed an order insulating the CBI from possible political interference.
It had ordered the CBI Director to vet all status reports filed before the court and not share the content with the political executive. On Tuesday, the CBI will produce a sealed report on the latest with regard to irregularities in allocation of 218 coal blocks.
However, Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit brazenly rejected the Opposition's charge that the law Minister 'interfered' with the functioning of the CBI and that he was not replying to the allegation against him.
"Nobody is shying away from a debate, but a debate can happen only when Parliament runs. We are ready for a debate... The law Minister should be given an opportunity to make his stand clear," the Congress spokesperson said.
Dikshit left it to the law Minister to answer when asked for a categorical reply on whether the Congress believes that there was nothing wrong in what he did.
"We are not saying he has done no wrong or he has done no right. He has done what he thinks to be correct and he is the most able person to answer that. He has been constantly maintaining that what he has done is within the parameters of his powers.
let us give him an opportunity to clarify himself," he said.
"I am not saying I am giving him a clean chit... Who am I to give anybody a clean chit. He has done something. He believes that he has done a correct thing. There is no reason for us to doubt that what he has done is either illegal, wrong or unconstitutional.
In any case the matter is before the Supreme Court. let the SC judge it," he added.