leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley has alleged that the massive cover-up exercise in Coalgate was guided by somebody in the Prime Minister’s office and asserted that the BJP will stick to its demand for the PM’s resignation.
“Somebody in the Prime Minister’s Office was certainly guiding the course of events which have taken place,” he told Karan Thapar in Devil’s Advocate programme on CNN-IBN.
“It would be safe to presume that Indian civil servants are trained to be conventional and conservative. They are not adventurist. They don’t do these kinds of things all by themselves unless they have a brief to do a particular act. Therefore, it would be safe to presume...That they obviously acted under some guidance or instruction,” Jaitley said.
Jaitley was responding to pointed question whether he believed that joint secretary in PMO Shatrughan Singh met CBI officials to peruse the Coalgate status report of his own volition or was he directed to do so by the PMO head Pulok Chatterji.
When asked if on the basis of intelligent logical presumption the finger pointed all the way to Pulok Chatterji, Jaitley said, “Well, I think we are presuming this and as a matter of presumption you can assume that somebody in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as certainly guiding the course of events which have taken place.
Asked if his party would stick to the demand for the PM’s resignation, the BJP leader said, “We will continue to flag this issue seriously. Today you have a massive cover-up exercise because of which the law Minister had to resign.
“Because of the cover-up exercise, you had the Supreme Court giving serious comments and strictures.”
On reports that a top PMO official was briefed about the law Minister’s meeting with CBI on the coal issue, he said, “It obviously appears the Coal Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office were seriously concerned with what was the content of the status report. And, therefore the status report must be tailored to their convenience and now you have evidence available as to what four changes which were made in them.”
He said, “The Prime Minister or the PMO, either of them, was certainly concerned and very seriously concerned that the status report must not carry anything embarrassing and, therefore, these extra initiatives were taken, where officers were vetting an investigation report to make sure the report does not contain anything which could be held inculpatory against the decision-makers.”
Jaitley asked, “Was the Prime Minister’s Office so seriously concerned that some officers in the Coal Ministry are going to be indicted as a result of thisIJ” He said it can’t be conceived that investigation calls the suspects to have the report vetted by them.
The BJP leader said CBI in the coal block allocation probe has to question all decision-makers and “whoever was the eventual decision-maker in the coal block allocation must go”.
He hoped CBI does an honest probe after talking to all concerned or else an SIT may have to bring out the truth.
Jaitley said the BJP will continue to flag the issue of the PM’s resignation but Singh has to take his own call on this. “We certainly want to tell the Prime Minister that this is a question he should ask his own conscience.”
He said, “I think Ashwani Kumar’s resignation has led to a particular direction. Further course of that direction is whoever was the eventual decision-maker in the coal block allocation must own up and take the responsibility.”
On whether Attorney General GE Vahanvati should resign on the issue, Jaitley said, “That is a decision he himself has to take whether his position continues to be tenable or untenable. I think it is becoming extremely embarrassing.”