Ajit Pawar's resignation signals family feud, pressure tactic

Mumbai: Leaders of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party will meet in Mumbai this afternoon to discuss next steps after the resignation of party leader Ajit Pawar as Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister; sources say partymen are expected to request Mr Pawar, who has quit over allegations of an irrigation scam, to withdraw his resignation. Senior leader Praful Patel is flying to Mumbai to handle the crisis.

Immediately after Mr Pawar, who is also Sharad Pawar's nephew, announced last evening that he was resigning, the NCP's 19 ministers in the state too handed resignation letters to the NCP's state president, a gesture that was described by party leaders as expressing solidarity with "the state's tallest leader." Immediately too, speculation began over why Mr Pawar had really quit - there has been talk of a power struggle between Sharad Pawar and his powerful nephew, hotly denied, but fuelled by the fact that the NCP ministers sent their resignation letters very soon after Mr Pawar senior said that no other minister would quit and that there was no threat to the NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra. The NCP has 62 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

The complicated politics being played out in Mumbai is also seen as pressure tactics at two levels. At the state level, where ties between the two partners have been less than amicable ever since Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress began a clean-up drive. Several NCP leaders like Mr Ajit Pawar and PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal among others face corruption charges and the latest crisis is being seen as a signal from the junior partner that the Congress and its zealous CM must back off. Mr Chavan said in a statement last night, "I have received a letter of resignation from Mr Ajit Pawar. He has also suggested some alternative arrangements about the two portfolios he held - finance and energy. After speaking to leaders of both parties, I will take a final decision."

In Delhi, the Congress - still hurting from the blow dealt by Mamata Banerjee who exited the UPA government last week - is a soft target for allies like the NCP, which can flex muscle and ask for their pound of flesh when a Cabinet reshuffle is effected soon.

Mr Ajit Pawar faces allegations that as Maharashtra's irrigation minister some years ago, he allegedly granted 32 contracts within three months, worth Rs. 13,500 crores, in the state's Vidarbha region at high rates. The Opposition alleges that a change in tender processes meant that all tenders of over a crore required his signature. It has also been alleged that Mr Pawar overruled officials who tried to stop this. The Vidarbha region has come to be known for desperate and impoverished, debt-ridden farmers committing suicide. A failed monsoon this year has highlighted the problem of faulty canals that do not work throughout the region.

He said yesterday, ""I am just an MLA now. I won't accept any ministry or post till I am cleared of all allegations... I have not done this, why should I suffer the allegations? But if I did not resign, people will think I am guilty and did not want to give up my political posts." Mr Pawar also quit his post of the state's Power Minister.

This July, the Chief Minister announced, much to the NCP's dismay, that his government would present a white paper on what the state had spent on irrigation in the last 10 years; this after the opposition alleged that Maharashtra spent over 70,000 crores in that period but added only 0.1 per cent to the area under irrigation. Mr Pawar was the state's water resources minister between 1999 and 2009.

A senior NCP leader said yesterday that Mr Pawar had put in his papers because the NCP was "tired of the whisper campaign, mainly by friends." He did not name anyone but was clearly indicating Mr Chavan.

The white paper on irrigation is slated to be tabled in the next session of the Maharashtra Assembly. A report of the state auditor or CAG is also expected in a few months. The Opposition has also demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged scam.

The Congress has already weathered an NCP crisis a few months ago, when, after the Presidential elections, Sharad Pawar complained that his party was not getting its due as an ally. That came soon after Mr Chavan announced the white paper and it was clear that the conflict in Maharashtra between the two partners lay at the heart of the sulk. The crisis blew over with the setting up of a UPA coordination committee, but the NCP's misgivings about Mr Chavan continuing as Maharashtra Chief Minister are said to remain. There has been speculation that Mr Chavan might be called back the Centre  in the next reshuffle of the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, though he has denied this. 

From: NDTV

Among revoked coal permits, a firm that appears close to BJP

New Delhi: Among the four firms whose coal licenses have been revoked yesterday by the government is Castron Mining. 

In 1999 when the BJP-led NDA was in power, Castron Mining was given one coal block in Jharkhand. In India,  private firms cannot operate coal mines for commercial use -the coal blocks they get have to feed power, steel or cement plants.

Castron was meant to use its coal block in Jharkhand for an iron and steel project.   Because it has yet to begin mining, its coal license is being cancelled.

Castron's office at Nariman Point in Mumbai is shared by businessman Anup Aggarwalla's BLA Group , which has interests in the power sector. Both companies list the same address on their websites. Mr Aggrawala's firm was allotted two coal blocks in Madhya Pradesh in 1996.

Mr Aggarwala is listed as the co-convener of the BJP's Commerce Cell on the party's website.  In 2009, he was the BJP's candidate for the Rajya Sabha election from Ranchi, but lost.

In June 2012, the businessman was also part of a business delegation to Tokyo led by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 

Suresh Kalmadi can't contest Indian Olympic Association chief election: Delhi High Court

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court ruled on Thursday that Indian Olympics Association (IOA) chief, Suresh Kalmadi will not be able contest the same post this year. The Delhi HC ruled that the election will be held according to the sports code, which prohibits one office bearer to contest election more than three times.
The former Congress MP was arrested last year in April following charges of corruption with the CWG fund. He was under jail custody and was released on bail only recently. Following which he reclaimed the office of IOA chief once again.
Kalmadi had been at the helm of IOA affairs for the last 18 years.

Bureaucrats hired by companies which they helped get coal fields allotted to?

New Delhi: The investigation into the coal scam has the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) looking at whether bureaucrats colluded with private companies to get coal blocks despite being ineligible.

What is clear already is that several senior bureaucrats who could have helped inference the allocation process were employed by private companies after leaving the government.

R V Shahi was India's longest serving power secretary - he held the position between 2002 and 2007. During this time, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, owned by Congress MP Navin Jindal, was allocated two coal blocks in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Mr Shahi is now an Independent Director of the same company, whose businesses include steel, power and mining.


Like other companies, Jindal Steel and Power was chosen by a screening committee that included representatives of different ministries and stakeholders.  Mr Shahi says that the coal blocks given to Mr Jindal's firm were for sponge iron plants and not for power, therefore, he says, officials from his ministry would not have played a role in the selection process.

But during Mr Shahi's tenure as power secretary, two other Jindal Group companies - the Utkal A coal block in Odisha given jointly to both companies - were assigned coal blocks for power plants These companies are headed by Navin Jindal's brothers and he is a director of Jindal Stainless.

Like Jindal Steel and Power, a part of these firms are subsidiaries of the OP Jindal Group. Both Shahi and Navin Jindal dismissed any allegations of wrongdoing or favouritism.

In Jharkhand, PP Sharma was the Chief Secretary between December 2004 and January 2006, and then again from August 2007 to March 2008. Now, he is a full-time director with the Abhijeet Group, which has power and mining projects spread across Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal.

During Mr Sharma's tenure as Chief Secretary, the same Abhijeet Group got five coal blocks in Jharkhand. Though the allocations are done by the Coal Ministry, the state government's views are critical in the selection process and senior officials from the state where the coal filed is located are on the screening committee that decides on applications.

Mr NC Jha is the CEO of the mining business of Monnet Energy and Ispat Limited' the second largest coal-based sponge-iron manufacturer in India.

Mr Jha was the Technical Director of government-owned Coal India from 2007 till January 2012 and Chairman of Coal India Limited in 2011.   The Technical Director of Coal India is a member of the Screening Committee.

Between 2008 and 2010, the group was allocated three coal blocks in states including Odisha and Chhattisgarh for power and sponge iron by the coal ministry.

Goa mining scam: Will two former chief ministers face arrest?

Panaji: After the Goa government ordered shutdown of all 90 iron ore mines in the state, a crackdown is likely against two former Chief Ministers who have been indicted in the Shah Commission report on illegal iron mining in the state.

The report, which was tabled in Parliament last week, exposed a scam to the tune of Rs. 35,000 crore in Goa's iron ore mines. The enquiry commission, headed by Justice MB Shah, also blamed two former chief ministers, Digambar Kamat and Pratapsinh Rane, and other bureaucrats linked to the mining ministry for their alleged involvement in the scam.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had told reporters in Panjim on Saturday that in the next 15 days, FIRs will be filed against Mr Kamat and Mr Rane and a number of bureaucrats and officials from the Indian Bureau of Mines and the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

"The FIRs would be based on the findings of the Shah Commission which has pegged illegal mining in Goa to the tune of Rs. 35,000 crore," said Mr. Parrikar. Mr Rane was the Chief Minister from June 2005 to June 2007, while Mr Kamat was the Chief Minister between 2007 and 2012. Mr Kamat held the mining portfolio for over nine years.

Yesterday, the Goa government temporarily suspended operations of all the working mines in the state, pending verification of documents relating to mining activity and environmental clearances.

"It is necessary in order to scrutinise clearances obtained by the mining lease holders and allowing continuation of mining without proper scrutiny and verification of requisite approval," Principal Secretary (Mining) RK Verma said in his order.

The order by the state's mines and geology department specifies that the suspension of mining operation "shall not affect trade and transportation of ore already mined and existing in the lease hold area, in transit or stored or stocked on jetties".

From: NDTV

Congress attacks national auditor (CAG), blames it for the wasted Monsoon session of Parliament

New Delhi: Escalating its attack on the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Congress on Monday virtually accused CAG Vinod Rai of working for the BJP. This was the strongest attack yet on the CAG and marks a shift of strategy by the party, which had so far been attacking the auditor on facts and figures. Party spokesperson Manish Tiwari had also said that the CAG was as much to blame for the wasted Monsoon session of Parliament as the opposition.

"What's unfortunate is, CAG is just as responsible for this as the BJP is for Monsoon session washout. It has lead to roadblocks in governance and it has maligned India's image internationally," said Mr Tiwari.

The BJP reacted by calling the Congress' statements "ridiculous, cheap and sad" and said that the party must rise above questioning constitutional bodies and "shooting the messenger".

Resuming its criticism against the Comptroller and Auditor General, whose report pointing to a scam on coal block allocations allowed the BJP to corner the government, a Congress spokesperson said that "history shows the mindset" of the CAG "matches certain parties" and that for one of its reports, opposition leaders called up CAG officials. He also accused the CAG of "misusing its constitutional position". The party had several times earlier said that the CAG had exceeded its brief.

"If you were to go into history, you had a situation whereby a CAG report in 1988 paralysed Parliament. The findings of that report were struck down during the NDA regime. But meanwhile the author of the report became a Member of the Rajya Sabha and was Governor of Karnataka," Mr Tiwari said.

Reacting to a question that the Prime Minister had said that he and the government respected the office of the CAG, the spokesperson said that there was no divide on this between the PM and the party.

The spokesperson said that the CAG's "notional figures" had caused embarrassment for the country and that independent experts had questioned the reports. The government had said that the figures of loss that the CAG has reported in the coal allocation report, as well as the 2G spectrum report earlier, were notional and disputable. The CAG too had changed its figures more than once.

The party also slammed the BJP for its "doublespeak" on the CAG's report, saying that it was willing to treat as "sacrosanct" the figures when it came to the Congress, but treated them as notional when it came to states ruled by it.

Coal-gate: Raided coal firms had been tipped off, claims Arvind Kejriwal; incorrect, says CBI

New Delhi: Anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that companies who were raided earlier this week for landing coal fields by misreporting facts were secretly warned that CBI investigators would soon be arriving at the homes and offices of executives.  Irregularities in the allocation process are an important charge in the coal scandal that has become a huge political crisis, with Parliament more or less paralysed by the opposition BJP, which says it will not stop noisy disruptions till the PM accepts responsibility for "coal-gate" and resigns.

Mr Kejriwal tweeted this morning, "Received mail from an officer in one of raided coms.  They were informed two days in advance about raids and were asked to remove all materials."  The CBI has said that's incorrect. In a statement it clarified that the agency "categorically denies as completely false" the allegation made by the activist, who plans to launch a political party on October 2.

Earlier this week, the CBI registered cases against five private companies who were given coal blocks while they were apparently ineligible for them. The agency believes that bureaucrats and others who were part of a committee that screened applications colluded with the companies. Among a group of about 20 people who are accused of charges ranging from criminal conspiracy to cheating are Congress MP Vijay Darda, his brother Rajendra Darda who is a minister in the Maharashtra government, and an entrepreneur named Manoj Jayaswal who partnered with Mr Darda in setting up two companies, both of which were raided.  Both Vijay and Rajendra Darda have denied that they used their political clout to help their firm land coal blocks. 

The CBI says that companies deliberately misreported their net worth and their technical expertise. For instance, Navbharat Power, which was given two coal blocks in Odisha, projected a net worth of one lakh crores by showing short-term MoUs or agreements with two international power majors when they filed their application.

So Navbharat said it had a Memorandum of Understanding or MoU for 90 days with a Singapore-based company, which placed its net worth at about 2000 crores.  Then it showed an MoU with another global power, pushing its net worth to one lakh crores. However,  Navbharat produced no documents to prove these deals.

The CBI is looking at whether officials who sanctioned coal blocks deliberately over-looked these sort of glaring lapses.  In some cases, stake-holders in firms sold equity after their firms were given coal fields, which was against the rules, but made them huge profits.

(With Inputs from Agencies)

Coal scam: Haven't been asked to quit, says Maharashtra minister Rajendra Darda

Mumbai: A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked Congress MP Vijay Darda and his brother Rajendra, who is Maharashtra's Education Minister, in the coal block allocation scam, NDTV has learnt that the minister may be asked to quit. Top Congress sources have told NDTV that the party's leadership was unhappy that the Dardas hid facts.

But Mr Darda denied reports that he had been asked to go. "Nobody has asked me to resign. I'm attending functions with the CM and the Governor of the state. I'm absolutely fine," he insisted.

Mr Darda and his brother, Vijay, have been named in cases registered by the CBI against five companies and their directors for deliberately misreporting financial and technical abilities in order to corner coal fields.

Mr Vijay Darda has denied that he used his position to influence the coal allocation process followed by the government. Vijay Darda is closely linked to two of the five private firms that were raided by the CBI on Tuesday in connection with the coal blocks they landed in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Speaking to NDTV after these raids, Mr Darda said, "I am very shocked to hear about the filing of the case but I deny all the allegations. There has been no wrongdoing on my part. I did not lobby for coal blocks." He also said that he is confident that the "truth will come out" and added that he will co-operate with investigators.

Mr Darda has outrightly rejected the allegations against him. But the cases against his brother and him are likely to unnerve his party, which has been trying to fend off accusations of a coal policy rooted in crony capitalism and graft. Alleged irregularities in how coal blocks were assigned to private and state-run firms have provoked a massive political crisis, and emboldened the opposition BJP to demand the Prime Minister's resignation. Till that happens, the party says, it will not allow Parliament to function.

The case against Mr Darda, his son and his brother is connected to a firm named JLD Yavatmal; they were directors when the company was given coal fields. Mr Darda, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Lokmat, Maharashtra's best-selling vernacular daily, says that his association with the company, named after his father, ended in 2009.

The four other firms against who cases were filed yesterday are Jas Infrastructure, in which Mr Darda and his son hold seven per cent stake, AMR Iron and Steel, Vinni Iron and Steel and Navbharat Power.

Mr Darda set up Jas Infrastructure and JLD Yavatmal with influential businessman Manoj Jayaswal. The politician says that in 2009, he ended his association with the latter because it cancelled plans for a power plant in Yavatmal, the district that he belongs to.

On Monday night, Mr Darda told NDTV, "I was not in the driver's seat...my son was leading the show." He added that if a firm associated with his son was allocated coal fields, it was because the company "met the parameters."

Sources say it's unlikely that Mr Jayaswal's different companies were collectively given 20 coal blocks without the influence of his high-level connections. Mr Jayaswal's political clout is on display in photographs from his daughter's wedding which he celebrated in Delhi and Mumbai in 2009. Seen with the entrepreneur are current Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, as well as senior BJP leaders like LK Advani and Nitin Gadkari, who is from Nagpur, like Mr Jayaswal.

The Congress has already been heavily embarrassed by the revelation that union minister Subodh Kant Sahai in 2008 wrote to the Prime Minister's Office, lobbying for coal blocks for a company that has his brother as a Director.

Another company raided on Tuesday - Vinni Iron and Steel - is being investigated for links to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who spent two years in prison on money-laundering charges. Vaibhav Tulsyan, who once owned the firm and was raided yesterday, claimed he had sold the company to a close aide of Mr Koda before the coal blocks were allocated. "Because of a Naxal problem, we were not able to run the company, so when Vijay Joshi, who was a close aide of former chief minister Madhu Koda, approached us with a good offer, we sold the company to him," he told the Press Trust of India.

The CBI's inquiry is rooted in a complaint filed by BJP leader Prakash Javadekar four months ago with the government's anti-graft department or Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Then, last month, the government auditor or CAG said that 142 coal fields allocated between 2004 and 2009 had allowed private firms to get windfall benefits of upto 1.86 lakh crores because the coal mines were sold at highly undervalued rates, instead of being auctioned. While the government has rejected that finding, the Opposition has seized it to insist that the Prime Minister must step down.

From: NDTV

Coal scam: Congress MP Vijay Darda denies wrongdoing, says he didn't lobby for coal blocks

New Delhi: Congress MP Vijay Darda has denied that he used his position to influence the coal allocation process followed by the government. Mr Darda and his brother Rajendra, who is a minister in the Maharashtra government, have been named in cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against five companies and their directors for deliberately misreporting financial and technical abilities in order to corner coal fields.

Rajendra Darda is likely to resign as Maharashtra's Education Minister tomorrow, sources have told NDTV.

Vijay Darda is closely linked to two of the five private firms that were raided by the CBI yesterday in connection with the coal blocks they landed in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Speaking to NDTV after these raids, Mr Darda said, "I am very shocked to hear about the filing of the case but I deny all the allegations. There has been no wrongdoing on my part. I did not lobby for coal blocks." He also said that he is confident that the "truth will come out" and added that he would co-operate with investigators.

Mr Darda has outrightly rejected the allegations against him. But the cases against his brother and him are likely to unnerve his party, which has been trying to fend off accusations of a coal policy rooted in crony capitalism and graft. Alleged irregularities in how coal blocks were assigned to private and state-run firms have provoked a massive political crisis, and emboldened the opposition BJP to demand the Prime Minister's resignation. Till that happens, the party says, it will not allow Parliament to function.

The case against Mr Darda, his son and his brother is connected to a firm named JLD Yavatmal; they were directors when the company was given coal fields. Mr Darda, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Lokmat, Maharashtra's best-selling vernacular daily, says that his association with the company, named after his father, ended in 2009.

The four other firms against who cases were filed yesterday are Jas Infrastructure, in which Mr Darda and his son hold 7% stake, AMR Iron and Steel, Vinni Iron and Steel and Navbharat Power.

Mr Darda set up Jas Infrastructure and JLD Yavatmal with influential businessman Manoj Jayaswal. The politician says that in 2009, he ended his association with the latter because it cancelled plans for a power plant in Yavatmal, the district that he belongs to.
On Monday night, Mr Darda told NDTV, "I was not in the driver's seat...my son was leading the show." He added that if a firm associated with his son was allocated coal fields, it was because the company "met the parameters."

Sources say it's unlikely that Mr Jayaswal's different companies were collectively given 20 coal blocks without the influence of his high-level connections. Mr Jayaswal's political clout is on display in photographs from his daughter's wedding which he celebrated in Delhi and Mumbai in 2009. Seen with the entrepreneur are current Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, as well as senior BJP leaders like LK Advani and Nitin Gadkari, who is from Nagpur, like Mr Jayaswal.

The Congress has already been heavily embarrassed by the revelation that union minister Subodh Kant Sahai in 2008 wrote to the Prime Minister's Office, lobbying for coal blocks for a company that has his brother as a Director.

Another company raided yesterday - Vinni Iron and Steel - is being investigated for links to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who spent two years in prison on money-laundering charges. Vaibhav Tulsyan, who once owned the firm and was raided yesterday, claimed he had sold the company to a close aide of Mr Koda before the coal blocks were allocated. "Because of a Naxal problem, we were not able to run the company, so when Vijay Joshi, who was a close aide of former chief minister Madhu Koda, approached us with a good offer, we sold the company to him," he told the Press Trust of India.

The CBI's inquiry is rooted in a complaint filed by BJP leader Prakash Javadekar four months ago with the government's anti-graft department or Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Then, last month, the government auditor or CAG said that 142 coal fields allocated between 2004 and 2009 had allowed private firms to get windfall benefits of upto 1.86 lakh crores because the coal mines were sold at highly undervalued rates, instead of being auctioned. While the government has rejected that finding, the Opposition has seized it to insist that the Prime Minister must step down.

From: NDTV

Coalgate: CBI books 5 companies, one firm 'linked' to Congress MP Vijay Darda

NEW DELHI: After three months of internal probe, the CBI on Tuesday registered five cases in connection with the alleged scam in allocation of coal mines and conducted searches in nearly 30 places across the country.

After registering five FIRs in court, CBI teams fanned out to nearly 10 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, Dhanbad and Nagpur and searched premises of owners of some companies.

The companies named in the FIR by the CBI are Vini Iron and Steel, Nav Bharat Steel, JLD Yavatmal which is said to be linked to the family of Congress MP Vijay Darda, JAS infrastructure of Abhijeet Group and AMR Iron and Steel and their directors and unknown government officials, the CBI said.

The agency, which had registered a preliminary enquiry in June this year, has slapped charges of cheating and suppression of facts against the companies.

When contacted, Vaibhav Tulsyan, whose office and home were searched by the agency for his alleged association with Vini Iron and Steel, claimed he had sold the company to a close aide of the then Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda.

"I do not know why the searches are taking place at my office and home. I have sold the company five months before coal block allocations. I was not be the beneficiary allottee. My only fault was that I was the applicant for coal blocks.

"Because of Naxal problem we were not able to run the company, so when Vijay Joshi, who was close aide of former chief minister Madhu Koda, approached us with a good offer, we sold the company to him. At the time coal block allocation, the company was already with Joshi" Tulsyan said.

The company was allocated Rajhara North coal block in Jharkhand. Tulsyan was one of the directors when the application was moved for coal block allocation and he was the signatory on the application.

The agency has also reached the office of JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited in Defence Colony here.

The attempts to contact the Abhijeet group spokesperson failed as his office said he was on leave. The office also refused to part with his contact number. The emails sent to him bounced back.

Congress MP Vijay Darda had refuted allegations that he was part of any scam.

He had stated that neither he was involved in any scam nor he had any partnership with Union coal minister Shri Prakash Jaiswal or Subodh Kant Sahai.

He said if any BJP leader proved that he had been allotted nine coal blocks and got benefit of Rs 25000 crore in nexus with Jaiswal, he was ready to relinquish politics else the person making allegations should leave politics.

The filing of FIRs comes three months after registration of a preliminary enquiry into the coal scam by the agency on the directions of the Central Vigilance Commission.

During the preliminary enquiry, the CBI was informed by the Coal ministry officials that it had issued show cause notices to some of the firms which were allocated the mines for explaining the delay in conducting the mining work.

Some of the firms, which were allocated coal blocks in 2005, were yet to start mining, official sources said.

The CBI had also examined the past areas of operation of some of the companies which were allotted coal blocks in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, the sources said alleging some of these firms had been set up only for getting coal blocks allocated and the same was later sublet to other companies at a premium.

CBI coal probe shows its impartiality: Jaiswal

CBI's registering cases against five companies in the coal block allocation scam leaves no room for further questioning on the impartiality of the investigative agency, coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said on Tuesday.

"Those who allege CBI works on government instructions, they should answer now, how they feel about the CBI action?" Jaiswal told reporters here, commenting on the development.

Jaiswal's comments come following CBI registered cases against five companies and unknown government officials as part of its probe into alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks.

"Please, ask those people who give CBI a bad name when it suits them," Jaiswal said.

Morgan Stanley lowers India's growth forecast to 5.1 per cent

New Delhi: Government tried on Monday to defuse a political crisis over sweetheart coal deals that has deepened a perception of dysfunction in the world's biggest democracy and derailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's efforts to win back investors.

In a shock forecast, Morgan Stanley warned there was a "very high risk" that growth in Asia's third-largest economy could slow to just 4.3 per cent in the 2013 fiscal year unless the government took urgent steps to cut the fiscal deficit and encourage private investment.

Dr Singh's government has struggled to defend itself against allegations that it awarded coalfields potentially worth billions of dollars to private and state power, cement and steel companies in a process that was corrupt at worst and lacked transparency or any element of competition at best.

Under pressure from the prime minister's office, a government committee met on Monday to speed up the review of 58 coalfields whose owners have already been issued notices for missing deadlines to get them operational. The coal ministry has until September 15 to decide whether to cancel the licences.

Among those that face possible cancellation of coal mining licences are billionaire Lakshmi Mittal's ArcelorMittal, GVK Power and Infrastructure, India's top aluminium producer Hindalco Industries Ltd - part of the Aditya Birla Group - and Tata Power.

The furore, dubbed "coal-gate" by media, has drowned out Dr Singh's efforts to show that his coalition government is serious about implementing reforms. For months it has been under fire for dithering while the economy suffers from the impact of the eurozone debt crisis and sluggish U.S. growth.

Morgan Stanley cut its growth forecast for India to 5.1 per cent on Monday for the 2012/13 fiscal year. It had previously projected the economy would grow at 5.8 per cent in the year ending next March. But in its "bear case" scenario, growth could tumble to 4.3 per cent if policy inaction persisted, it said.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which will challenge Dr Singh's ruling Congress party in elections due by 2014, has seized on a state auditor's report that questioned licenses granted for 142 coalfields between 2004 and 2009.

The concessions were awarded by a government committee without competitive bidding. The auditor said it was not clear from the minutes of the committee's meetings how it arrived at decisions on coalfields that could be worth billions of dollars.

The BJP has all but paralysed Parliament for two weeks, using the report to blacken the government, which has been buffeted by corruption scandals, most notably a $39 billion telecoms licences scam that saw a former minister arrested.

BJP wants to keep corruption centre-stage

Crowding around the speaker's seat in Parliament, BJP members chanted "prime minister submit your resignation". Amid the din, the Congress party and its allies managed to pass three bills.

The BJP, which has struggled to capitalise on infighting within the Congress-led coalition, wants to keep alive an issue it believes resonates strongly with voters, political commentator Vinod Mehta said.

"They feel it is striking a chord. They are trying to keep the corruption issue at the centre of political discourse."

Dr Singh has denied any wrongdoing and pointed out that it was his government that proposed competitive bidding, but the softly spoken prime minister's rebuttal has been overshadowed by daily images of Parliamentary chaos on cable television news channels.

It has been left to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who normally keeps a low profile, to take the fight to the opposition. She has surprised observers with her unusually aggressive response to the BJP's corruption charges.

With the monsoon session of Parliament due to end on Friday, there was no sign of an end to the deadlock.

The BJP has signalled that it might be willing to drop its demand for Dr Singh to quit if the government cancels coal licenses and agrees to an independent inquiry. But the government has dismissed the demand, saying a Central Bureau of Investigation probe was already under way.

From: NDTV

Won't take rash action in Vodafone tax case: Chidambaram

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said there will be no "rash" action in Vodafone tax case and the matter will be decided after considering all aspects including recommendations the Shome Committee on indirect transfer of assets. "They (I-T assessing officers) and are not going to act rashly. These are not small amounts on which you can take a rash decision," he told reporters.
He was asked whether the tax officials would send notice to Vodafone for collection of tax following amendment in the Income Tax Act with retrospective provisions during the Budget session of Parliament.
The Income Tax Department on October 22, 2010 passed an order determining a tax liability (including interest) of Rs. 11,218 crore on Vodafone on acquisition of Hutchinson's stake in Hutch-Essar through a deal in Cayman Islands in 2007.
The Supreme Court, however, quashed the order in January this year. After the apex court's ruling, the Income Tax Act was amended with retrospective effect to bring into tax net such deals.
"There is section 119. There is a Supreme Court judgement. There is opinion of the Attorney General. All this have to be studied by the assessing officer and his supervising officers... They will study all that. In the meanwhile, we will get the Shome committee's report also," Chidambaram added.
Section 119 of the Finance Act, 2012 seeks to validate the October 2010 order of the Income Tax Department. The Department had also passed an order imposing a penalty of Rs. 7,900 crore in April, 2011.   
However, the penalty demand was not enforced in view of a Supreme Court's direction dated April 15, 2011.

Coal scandal: Final report by inter-ministerial group by September 10

New Delhi:  An Inter-Ministerial Group, with an expanded mandate to review the status of 90 coal blocks allotted since 1993 to private firms, met today in New Delhi. Sources say the panel might recommend that licences for about 60 of these blocks be cancelled as the firms they were allotted to have failed to develop them. Sources say allottees of these blocks have been called-in for presenting their case. The firms stand to lose their bank guarantees, if they have not achieved the required development of the coal blocks. A final recommendation by the committee is expected to reach the Coal Secretary by September 10.

Here are 10 latest developments in this story:

1. Of the 60 blocks for which the panel is expected to recommend cancellation of licences, 53 were allotted during the Congress-led UPA regime and seven during the pre-2004 BJP-led NDA regime. The panel cites non-progress as the reason for cancellation. Show cause notices were sent to 58 firms in April this year. The companies have been asked to defend themselves between the 6th and 8th of this month. 
2. NDTV has accessed an internal note of the Inter-Ministerial Group, which was set up in June this year. It says that the cancellations that it recommends could defuse the current crisis. It also says that production in the 60 blocks, which it has identified for non-performance, is unlikely by March 2013. The panel is expected to recommend that if licences for the 60 blocks are cancelled, these can be handed over to the public sector undertaking, Coal India. These 60 blocks have an estimated 6.7 billion tonnes of coal reserves valued at Rs. 2 lakh crore.
3. Coal Ministry sources stress that what the panel reviews today is unrelated to the CAG coal block allocation issue. The sources have clarified that many coal blocks under review today are different from those mentioned in the national auditor's report on coal allocation that has created a political storm, with the BJP holding up Parliament proceedings for the last nine days as it demands the Prime Minister's resignation. The Comptroller and Auditor General or CAG has said that private companies had a windfall gain of about Rs. 1.86 lakh crore from what it calls non-transparent allocation of 142 coal fields. The BJP points out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who held charge of the coal ministry, must own moral responsibility. It also wants those licences cancelled; the government has refused to do that.
4.  Sources say that 17 firms under review today are also mentioned in the CAG report. A draft report of the committee reportedly faults the companies for failing to develop mines and also says many of them did not apply for land clearance.
5. Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has asked the panel for a status report by September 15. The recommendations of the inter-ministerial panel are not binding upon the Coal Ministry. But the Prime Minister's Office appears keen for action against defaulters. Two companies that could be affected, according to the documents accessed by NDTV, are Jindal Steel and Power Limited, owned by Congress parliamentarian Navin Jindal, and Usha Martin, owned by the Jhawar family. They were each assigned coal blocks in Jharkhand.
6. On July 25 the committee recommended to the Coal Ministry that the licences of these firms be cancelled. Nearly a month later, on August 21, Coal Secretary SK Srivastava asked why a recommendation for action was being made at a time when guidelines for revoking licences have not yet been formalised. On August 23, the head of the ministerial committee, Zohra Chatterji, who is also the Additional Coal Secretary, responded that the existing terms for licences allow for cancellation if a company does not show satisfactory progress in developing mines. Ms Chatterji also pointedly said that it was upto the Coal Ministry to accept or ignore recommendations.
7. Four days later, the Coal Secretary seemed to take a U-turn and stressed in a letter dated August 27 that the Prime Minister's Office had expressed concern over "not initiating action in the respect of de-allocation where show cause notices have been issued." He also wrote that the PMO had asked the ministry to expedite all matters on a priority basis.
8. The Coal Secretary is unhappy that the inter-ministerial panel did not give the companies concerned an opportunity to defend themselves, sources said. Mr Srivastava raised a similar point with Ms Chatterji in similar correspondence. She responded by saying in a note that a detailed report of the companies' responses to their show cause notices has not been readied because the concerned department within the Coal Ministry is "overburdened with work related to a CBI inquiry".
9. However, officials from the concerned companies said this is not a valid reason for recommending de-allocation. They said they had replied to the show cause notice that was sent to them in April by the government but their answers had not been taken into account by the committee that had recommended the cancellation of licences.
10. The Opposition BJP has faulted the government for a coal policy that was not in the best interests of the country. It is the last week of the Monsoon Session; for the last nine days the BJP has made it impossible for Parliament to transact any business as it demands the PM's resignation. On Friday, the PM said there was no question of him quitting. He accused the BJP of violating democratic processes by not allowing Parliament to function.
    
    From: NDTV

Coal scandal: Ministers' panel to review status of 58 coal blocks today

New Delhi: An Inter-Ministerial Group is likely to meet today to review the status of 58 coal blocks which both public and private firms failed to develop within a stipulated time-frame.

These companies were sent show cause notices in April. And in its meeting today, the panel will deliberate on the replies. The panel may, sources say, in the next few weeks recommend that a slew of licences be revoked for non-performance. This panel's recommendations are not binding upon the Coal Ministry. But the Prime Minister's Office appears keen for action against defaulters.

Two companies that could be affected, according to documents accessed by NDTV, are Jindal Steel and Power Limited, owned by Congress parliamentarian Navin Jindal, and Usha Martin, owned by the Jhawar family. They were each assigned coal blocks in Jharkhand.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has asked for a status report on the coal blocks by September 15. However, sources within the Coal Ministry have clarified that the blocks, barring a few, are different from those mentioned in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The CAG had in its recent report tabled in Parliament stated that undue benefits to the tune of Rs. 1.86 lakh crore were extended to private firms on account of allocation of 57 mines to them. The Inter-Ministerial Group may recommend cancellation of such blocks, which did not comply to the development norms.

The ministerial review committee, on July 25 recommended to the Coal Ministry that the licences of these firms be cancelled. Nearly a month later, on August 21, Coal Secretary SK Srivastava asked why a recommendation for action was being made at a time when guidelines for revoking licences have not yet been formalised. On August 23, the head of the ministerial committee, Zohra Chatterji, who is also the Additional Coal Secretary, responded that the existing terms for licences allow for cancellation if a company does not show satisfactory progress in developing mines. Ms Chatterji also pointedly said that it was upto the Coal Ministry to accept or ignore recommendations.

Four days later, the Coal Secretary seemed to take a U-turn and stressed in a letter dated August 27 that the Prime Minister's Office had expressed concern over "not initiating action in the respect of de-allocation where show cause notices have been issued." He also wrote that the PMO had asked the ministry to expedite all matters on a priority basis.

The Coal Secretary is unhappy that the inter-ministerial panel did not give the companies concerned an opportunity to defend themselves, sources said. Mr Srivastava raised a similar point with Ms Chatterji in similar correspondence. She responded by saying in a note that a detailed report of the companies' responses to their show cause notices has not been readied because the concerned department within the Coal Ministry is "overburdened with work related to a CBI inquiry".

However, officials from the concerned companies said this is not a valid reason for recommending de-allocation. They said they had replied to the show cause notice that was sent to them in April by the government but their answers had not been taken into account by the committee that had recommended the cancellation of licences.

The ministerial panel's recommendations to revoke licences will boost the Opposition BJP which has faulted the government for a coal policy that was not in the best interests of the country. It is the last week of the Monsoon Session, but the BJP has made it impossible for Parliament to transact any business. Parliament has been paralysed because of noisy disruptions by the BJP demanding the PM's resignation. On Friday, the PM said there was no question of him quitting. He accused the BJP of violating democratic processes by not allowing Parliament to function.

Kejriwal, activists to protest outside Parliament police station today

Alleging harassment of volunteers of India Against Corruption, Arvind Kejriwal and others will today stage a protest outside Parliament Street police station in New Delhi and offer arrest.

Mr Kejriwal and other leaders of the IAC will arrive at the police station and demand that the volunteers detained during August 26 protest should not be subjected to harassment in the name of collecting evidence.

Five cases of rioting have been registered against Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, Manish Sisodia, Kumar Vishas, Gopal Rai and several unknown people for their protest against the coal block allocation.

Bibhav Kumar, an IAC member, said "they will not take bail but will go to jail".

He alleged that police, who were summoning the volunteers on the pretext of collecting evidence in the cases, were harassing them.

"Kejriwal and other leaders will tell police that they can arrest them but not harass people," Mr Kumar said.

Coal-gate: The growing controversy around Subodh Kant Sahai

New Delhi: Union minister Subdoh Kant Sahai said again today that he did not influence the decision to help a company linked to his brother land a valuable coal field in 2008. However, his defense left many questions unanswered.

The opposition BJP has accused the Prime Minister of allowing his government to assign coal fields without transparency to private firms. The BJP's campaign is rooted in the state auditor's report, which made the same allegation, and has been bolstered by letters that show Mr Sahai lobbied the Prime Minister's Office for coal fields for SKS Ispat and Power Limited, for who his brother serves as a Director. The company was given both the coal blocks it had requested - the market value of the coal contained them is approximately 2700 crores.

On February 5, 2008, Mr Sahai, who was a union minister then like now, wrote to the Prime Minister seeking his "personal intervention" for an application filed by SKS, requesting two coal fields in Chhattisgarh - one in Fatehpur for a power plant, which had been cleared by the Coal Ministry in September 2007 but had yet to be formally sanctioned, and another in Vijay Central, for an SKS steel plant. 

The next day, on February 6, the Prime Minister's Office forwarded the note to the Coal Ministry. On February 7, the screening committee of the Coal Ministry met to decide on the allotment of the Vijay Central coal block - Mr Sahai's brother, Sudhir, attended the meeting as Director, SKS Ispat and Power. In July, SKS Ispat and Power was allotted the Vijay Central coal block along with Prakash Industries, another company.

The BJP alleges that this coal block is what Mr Sahai helped his brother's company land.

Mr Sahai has been citing in his defence a judgement by the Delhi High Court delivered earlier this year which absolved him of attempting to influence the government for a company that his brother was associated with. However, that verdict applied to the first coal block assigned to SKS in Fatehpur, and not the second coal field in Vijay Central.

Mr Sahai also says that he lobbied for SKS because it would create jobs in his home state of Jharkhand. However, documents accessed by NDTV show both the coal fields allotted to SKS were for steel and power plants in Chhatisgarh. The minister has also failed to explain why he chose to back just one company, and not dozens of other who had applied for coal blocks for setting up plants in Jharkhand. There was conflict of interest at play since the firm on whose behalf he intervened included his brother among its Directors.

In a statement mailed to NDTV, SKS said that Sudhir K Sahai is employed as an 'executive director, honorary capacity'. They claim he receives no financial benefits from them.

From: NDTV

Coal controversy: Won't resign, BJP should wait till 2014, says PM

New Delhi: The Prime Minister has said there is no question of resigning over the alleged "coal-gate" affair. "If I were resigning, I would not be here," he said on his plane back from Tehran, referring to the fact that he represented India at Iran's summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The PM said he will not respond to the BJP's demand for his resignation, or to its scathing criticism of his alleged link to the coal controversy. "I have to maintain the dignity of the office of the Prime Minister," he said, adding that "we have been elected by the people of India...I hope the BJP will respect verdict of the people." 

The national auditor said recently that thousands of crores were lost because coal blocks were sold at a fraction of their true market value.  The BJP says this was done on the PM's watch and he is therefore obliged to exit office.  Till that happens, the party has said, it will not allow Parliament to function - for eight days, the BJP has disrupted both Houses, forcing adjournments every day. Today, it dismissed the PM's defence. "The buck stops at the PM's table," said the party's Balbir Punj. Referring to Dr Manmohan Singh's criticism of the BJP's tactics in Parliament, "If you are going to stonewall all queries, that means you have very little respect for the people of the country," Mr Punj said.

This morning, Mulayam Singh Yadav led a protest at Parliament, demanding an immediate end to the paralysis of both Houses, and asking for a Supreme Court judge to supervise an investigation into "coal-gate."  Sources in the government say that it is considering whether a judge should review the allocation of coal blocks to private firms. The manner in which those coal fields were assigned between 2004 and 2009 led to windfall benefits of upto 1.86 lakh crores, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

Law Minister Salman Khurshid indicated that the government may not be entirely opposed to Mr Yadav's suggestion. He said requesting a judicial investigation "can only be decided at the highest level - that of the PM" but added "I am not sure that even if the government accepts it... whether the proposal will be accepted at the Supreme Court."

Mr Yadav, seen as a friend of the UPA who bails it out of tight spots, has this time added to its headache with his latest alignment of non-BJP, non-Congress parties. That's led to new speculation about whether he is piecing together a Third Front to challenge both the BJP and the Congress. Privately, sources in Mr Yadav's party and the Congress say that by calling for Parliament to get back to work, Mr Yadav has isolated the BJP, which has refused to reconsider its strategy on disrupting Parliament. "The BJP is riding a tiger and doesn't know how to get off... if somebody helps them do that, it's welcome," said Mr Khurshid.

The BJP says it is not happy at having to disrupt Parliament, admits it cannot do so "as a policy" on every issue, but stoutly justifies its actions on the coal block allocation issue. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told NDTV, "If by sacrificing one session of Parliament the telecom set up can be cleaned up, it is a small price to pay." Part of the BJP's demand is that the coal block allocations be cancelled. 

From: NDTV

Coal Secretary questions de-allocation recommendation of government panel

The two top officials in the Coal Ministry are at odds with each other after an inter-ministerial group, set up by the government to review the development of coal blocks, recommended the de-allocation of two blocks, sources said.
The situation was triggered off when the ministerial group, headed by Additional Secretary Zohra Chatterji, recommended the de-allocation of two coal blocks in Jharkhand.
Coal Secretary S.K. Srivastava is of the view that the ministerial panel should not have expressed its opinion on the cancellation of coal block licenses since the guidelines for de-allocation have yet to be finalized, sources said.
The Jitpur and Lohari blocks had been allotted to JSPL and Usha Martin, respectively. The companies allegedly did not develop the blocks optimally, leading the panel to recommend de-allocation, the sources added.
The coal secretary is unhappy that the panel did not give the companies concerned an opportunity to defend themselves, the sources said.
In response to a query from Mr. Srivastava on the rationale behind de-allocating the Jitpur and Lohari coal blocks, Ms Chatterji said the panel has only “recommended” de-allocation and the final decision is pending.
On giving the concerned parties an opportunity to present their case, she wrote, “The paper, including replies to the show cause notices, required by the ministerial group have not yet been put up or circulated.” The reason given by the additional secretary is that the concerned department within the ministry is, “overburdened with work related to a CBI inquiry”.
However, officials from the concerned companies said this is not a valid reason for recommending de-allocation.
Officials from other ministries which are a part of the inter-ministerial group said the de-allocation reports may be baseless, and the panel will only review the progress of the coal blocks at a September 3 meeting and may not recommend any cancellation.
The ministerial panel has asked the concerned department of the Coal Ministry to table all relevant facts before it to facilitate recommending appropriate action.

Coal-Gate: CBI to probe sale of shares in firms which got coal licenses

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is all set to investigate sale of shares in companies which got coal licenses. 

Sources tell NDTV that money was made by shareholders selling stake after licenses were allotted. This was prompted by the fact that the value of companies with coal licenses showed an increase.

The CBI will also investigate links between shareholders in these companies and the members of the screening committee that allotted the coal blocks.

Sources say at least 12 companies are under the scanner and the agency plans to file six FIRs soon.

Sources say in order to qualify, some companies lied about their finances, while others did not reveal that they had already been assigned coal blocks. The CBI believes that these problematic allotments could not have been made without the collusion of government servants; some bureaucrats will also be charged.

NDTV has learnt that the questioning bureaucrats, including officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), is not ruled out.

The BJP has not allowed Parliament to function for eight  days now demanding that the Prime Minister Singh own moral responsibility for allowing what is alleged to be a huge swindle on his watch as coal minister.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its report tabled in Parliament earlier this month, did not indict the Prime Minister, but said his government had missed opportunities to introduce an auction for coal blocks. The government has disputed the report and auditor's  estimate of losses - which are pegged at Rs. 1.86 lakh crore.

From:NDTV

Coal-gate: Mulayam's party, Left, TDP to hold dharna against Parliament logjam

New Delhi: Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party along with the Left and the Telugu Desam Party will hold a dharna outside Parliament today against the logjam in the House. Yesterday, in added headache for the Congress, the three joined hands to seek an investigation into the coal allocation issue under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge.

The parties want that the Houses be allowed to function and a debate be held on the controversial allocation of coal blocks that the government's auditor says has caused a loss of Rs. 1.86 lakh crore to the national exchequer. For the seventh day yesterday, Parliament was adjourned early for the day. The Lok Sabha however managed to pass two Bills before chaos forced an adjournment.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's party had earlier demanded an explanation from the government on the coal block allocations, but stopped short of embarrassing the Congress by aligning with the BJP on the issue. It reportedly turned down a BJP invitation to attend a meeting of opposition parties to discuss strategy on the issue. The SP has bailed out the Congress-led UPA, which has tenuous numbers in the Lok Sabha, on numerous occasions over crucial matters.
But this time it's clearly different. The Congress now effectively faces two fronts on the coal allocation issue, even as whispers get louder that a new front which includes the Left and Mulayam Singh Yadav is emerging. Last month, Mr Yadav had written a letter to the Prime Minister urging him not to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. The letter also bore the signatures of leaders of the Left parties and the Janata Dal (Secular).

Then there is the BJP-led NDA, that wants these coal block allocations cancelled.  The main Opposition party has said it will protest on the issue in 40 cities today. The BJP is adamant that it will not allow Parliament to function till the Prime Minister owns moral responsibility for what is being called "Coal-gate"; it says that many of the allocations between 2004 and 2009 were made when Dr Singh held charge of the Coal Ministry and so the PM has direct responsibility and must resign. In that demand it has now managed to consolidate the support of its partners in the NDA, especially the Janata Dal (United).

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said yesterday, "If the PM takes moral responsibility, it will pave the way for peace in Parliament. Coal blocks were easier to get than a rail ticket; the government should start a mineral policy, which should start with the cancellation of the present coal block."

To Mulayam Singh Yadav's demand for an investigation, the Congress' Ambika Soni said, "You can't just demand probes out of thin air. Everyone wants to resolve issue, bring people to justice. But all that will happen only if there is a discussion." The Congress contends that in saying it is ready to discuss and debate the coal block allocations in any form in Parliament, it has broken with convention to make the best possible offer.

Reiterating the party's stand, spokesperson Manish Tiwari said, "We demand that Parliament be allowed to function, we are prepared to debate any issue. Whether coal blocks should be cancelled or not should be decided only after a proper procedure. All issues can be discussed inside the House. We want a debate, but the BJP is avoiding it."

From: NDTV