The CPI on Saturday demanded the resignation of law Minister Ashwani Kumar over the CBI affidavit in Supreme Court which said it had shared its status report on coal block allocation scam with him. In a statement the party general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy also sought a clarification from the Prime Minister, charging the Government for trying to influence the working of the premier investigation agency.
“CBI Director Ranjit Sinha exposed his intervention in the affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on Coal Scam. It is on the request of Ashwani Kumar, the CBI Director met him. CBI is not doing enquiry on the orders of the Government, but on Supreme Court directive. CBI is enquiring on the licensing method to Coal Mines by the Government. It already made adverse comments on Government on the way the licences are issued,” said Reddy.
Maintaining that the Prime Minister’s Office, the law Minister and Coal Secretary had “no business to interfere” in the CBI report, he said the Prime Minister “has to explain why his office also joined the law Ministry to examine the affidavit of the CBI to the Supreme Court. It is necessary to explain what amends they made to the original affidavit.”
Reddy said the entire episode “amounts to nothing but misusing their political power and trying to influence the CBI to misdirect the Supreme Court. It is clear that they do not respect the Supreme Court.” PNS