Agencies New Delhi, April 30, 2013
First Published: 13:04 IST(30/4/2013) | Last Updated: 13:11 IST(30/4/2013)
See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/04/coal-scam-gets-murkier-asg-rawal.htmlCoal scam gets murkier: ASG Rawal accuses AG Vahanvati of influencing CBI probe
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the government to restore the independent position of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with regard to its probe of coal block allocations. It asked the investigating agency and the government seven questions regarding the coal block allocations investigation.
· Why was it not disclosed to the court that the March 8 report was shared with the government?
· Why did the CBI Counsel assert on March 12 that this report was not shared with anyone?
· Was the Law Minister and officials of PMO and Coal ministry entitled to call for agency's probe report in coal scam?
· Was the report shared with any other officials other than these?
· What were the changes made in the status report and on whose instruction?
· Does this not show erosion of the trust that the court has shown in CBI?
· Supreme Court also questioned the remarks made by Addl. Solicitor General Ravel in his letter to Attorney GE Vahanvati
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Seven-questions-the-apex-court-asked-CBI/Article1-1052575.aspx
Live: Will boycott meetings called by Speaker, says BJP
by Arun George Apr 30, 2013
4:20 pm: No reason for us to co-operate with the government, says Swaraj
“Why should we co-operate with the government when they refuse to co-operate with us in any manner…If I am stopped from speaking from the platform of Parliament and informing the nation why we are obstructing the functioning of the House, and that too by the Congress president, then we have no reason to co-operate,” Swaraj said.
The Congress has destroyed any chance of their being a compromise, she said.
The BJP leader said they wanted many issues to be taken up during Parliament but had decided not to support the government in any of its endeavours in either of the Houses from here on.
However, the party has no plan to move a no confidence motion against the government. So for all the sound and fury, all it means is that we can expect that Parliament will not be functioning for the rest of this session.
4:15 pm: Will boycott all meetings organised by Speaker and Parliamentary Affairs Min, says Sushma Swaraj
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha has strongly criticised the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Speaker Meira Kumar for not allowing her to finish her speech in Parliament today.
“This must be one of the first times that the Supreme Court has made such stringent comments against the government,” BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said.
The BJP leader said that the Congress president had urged her party’s MPs to disturb her during her speech and this despite the party promising during an all-party meet that they would allow her to speak for five minutes.
“If we are called for a meeting by Speaker we will not attend nor will we attend any meeting organised by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister,” she said.
2:15 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned over demands for Law Minister’s resignation
The BJP’s promise to ensure the two Houses of Parliament don’t function beyond completing financial legislation seems to be in force with the party MPs shouting for the Prime Minister’s resignation and disrupting the Upper House.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day.
2.05 pm: Law Minister Ashwini Kumar meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament
After the CBI was pulled up by the Supreme Court, casting doubts over the future of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, the minister has gone to meet with the Prime Minister in Parliament, reported Times Now.
Will the Prime Minister take a decision on Kumar after studying the Supreme Court’s directives? Time will tell.
2.00pm Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal to CNN-IBN
“Party bhi khari hai, sarkar bhi khari hai, hum bhi khare hai (The party is standing, the government is standing and I am standing too,” Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal tells CNN-IBN.
“Demanding of PM’s resignation is a political game played by the opposition as there will be the Karnataka polls shortly and Lok Sabha elections are just a year away,” Jaiswal said.
1.50pm: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaks to reporters out side Parliament on coalgate
“We are studying the Supreme Court’s observation on Coalgate,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters. “Whatever action is called for will be taken after I study SC observations,” he said.
1:50 pm: CBI director says they will comply with SC orders, says he feels no regret
Speaking to CNN-IBN, CBI director Ranjit Sinha said that he welcomed the Supreme Court’s observations in the hearing today and would submit all the documents sought by the apex court.
“I don’t think there is anything to regret. The honourable Supreme Court will take a view on the meeting with Law Minister,” Sinha told the channel.
“Obviously the investigation should be in domain of investigating agency but sometimes we need inputs from other agencies,” Sinha said. However, he refused to comment on what changes had been made due to the Law Minister.
1:15 pm: Law Minister to stay, Additional solicitor general to go?
And the first of the figures to fall after the Supreme Court hearing today may be additional solicitor general Harish Raval for his strong letter against his boss the Attorney General.
CNN-IBN quoting sources said that since the apex court had made no adverse observations against either the Prime Minister, Law Minister or Attorney General there was no need for any of them to vacate their posts for now.
However, Raval, who was anyway said to be likely to step down after his strongly worded letter, may be the one to face the axe if he doesn’t.
Incidentally PTI reported that Raval has been replaced by senior advocate U U Lalit to represent the CBI in the case for future hearings.
And while the opposition may be after the Law Minister’s resignation, the Congress has decided to wait till the next hearing on 6 May before taking a final decision on whether he needs to go.
1:10 pm: Congress core group to meet, Sonia Gandhi to attend
After the Supreme Court hearing today, the Congress core group is to meet later today and will be attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, reported Times Now.
Will this mean the end of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar? Or will the Congress prefer to wait it out till the next hearing on 6 May?
1:00 pm: Will abide by everything said by the Supreme Court, says CBI
In a first reaction after the Supreme Court hearing, the CBI has said that it will abide by everything the apex court has told them to do, CNN-IBN reported.
12:50 pm: Essential to ensure independence of CBI in this case, says Bhushan
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan who is a party to the petition over the Coalgate issue said that it was essential to ensure the independence of the CBI in this case.
“It is essential to ensure that the CBI operate independently in this case where the investigations that are on,” Bhushan said outside the apex court.
The court has sought the names of the Joint Secretaries who perused the report and what changes were made in the report, he said.
The court has asked who filed the original status report and who filed the new status report, Bhushan said.
“The court has said that the full details and bio-data of all the officers need to be given before the next hearing,” he said.
The Attorney General has said that he did not see the final status report or the draft status report, Bhushan said.
However, he pointed out that the Law Minister and additional solicitor general had said that they met with the Attorney General.
12:40 pm: CBI director briefed about court’s instructions
A joint director of the CBI, who was reportedly present in the meeting with the Law Minister when the changes were made in the Coalgate report, has reached North Block to brief CBI director Ranjit Sinha about what the court had said, reports CNN-IBN.
Congress leader Ahmad Patel is also meeting with the Prime Minister, presumably to discuss the same issue.
Expect a lot more meetings behind closed doors to discuss the court’s directives before the day is through.
12:30 pm: Why didn’t you tell us earlier that you shared report with govt, asks SC
The Supreme Court has directed CBI director Ranjit Sinha to clarify by 6 May as to why in the status report of 8 March there was no disclosure that the draft report has been shared with government.
This marks the end of a very tumultuous hearing for the CBI, but on 6 May it may have to face a further tongue lashing from the apex court.
The government has perhaps escaped this time round but the repercussions of this hearing could have a major impact in the political sphere as well.
12: 15 pm: Coal ministry isn’t giving us all info in Coalgate, CBI tells SC
The Supreme Court has directed the CBI director Ranjit Sinha to put on an affidavit stating what changes were made in its status report and at whose instruction.
You shouldn’t be on crutches of the executive. Even now you haven’t mentioned changes to Coalgate report, the apex court has told the CBI reported Times Now.
Meanwhile, the investigating agency, which has been under fire from the apex court so far, has told it that the coal ministry is not furnishing all information required by it in coal allocation scam.
And this despite the fact an official from the ministry read the first investigation status report before it was submitted to the apex court.
12:10 pm : SC asks whether Law Minister and officials can call for CBI report
The apex court has asked the CBI whether the Law Minister and officials of PMO and Coal ministry are entitled to call for agency’s probe report in coal scam.
This comes after the CBI director had said that the report was given to the authorities since they had sought for the report before it was filed in the Supreme Court.
12:07 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm, Sushma Swaraj tears into govt
The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm, a casualty of slogan shouting MPs who sought the PM’s resignation.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj is tearing into the government over the issue and says it is the most corrupt government ever. (Live updates on that here)
12:05 pm: We told you so, Kejriwal says on Twitter
12:00 pm: Parliament disrupted by slogan shouting MPs demanding PM’s resignation
Whatever pact may have been struck before yesterday has come unstuck following the Supreme Court’s observations.
BJP MPs are in the well of the House and shouting slogans demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation. Will the Finance Bill really make it through today? You can track out live updates on proceedings in Parliament here.
11:55 am CBI director says they welcome all the observations of the apex court
Speaking to Times Now outside the Supreme Court, CBI director Ranjit Sinha has reportedly said, “We welcome all observations of the Supreme Court”
We will adhere to instructions of the SC, Sinha was quoted as saying by the channel.
What those instructions will be remains to be seen as the hearing continues in the apex court.
11: 40 am: BJD goes after Attorney General, says PM should make changes
Pinaki Mishra of the BJD says that the country has had a rich legacy when it comes to the legal field and today is in bad shape thanks to the Prime Minister’s inaction.
“It is for the PM to reflect on the people he has put in charge of these institutions and should reflect on the law minister and law officers he has appointed,” he said.
Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, the BJD is perhaps being the kindest so far. All other political parties are seeking much more than just thoughtful, introspective changes.
11: 35 am: PM must explain in Parliament, says CPI
“Nobody can ignore the Supreme Court’s observations and Parliament should evolve CBI so that it become independent,” D Raja from the CPI said.
He wants the Law Minister to resign and wants the Prime Minister to give an explanation in Parliament.
The BJP is less charitable and wants the entire government to go.
“The Supreme Court’s observations are so serious that the Prime Minister, if he has any self respect, should resign immediately,” BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj said.
Just days ago, the Prime Minister said there was no question of the Law Minister resigning. Can he hold on to that stance for much longer given the strong observations by the Supreme Court?
11:30 am: Khurshid walks away from cameras
Not the kind of day you want to be the one answering questions on behalf of the government and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid quickly turned away from reporters when accosted outside Parliament.
“Lets not comment on what court is saying,let us wait for the judgement,” he said.
It remains to be seen how the UPA government and Congress react to the Supreme Court’s observations. That will be an interesting press conference.
11: 23 am: SC tells CBI it doesn’t need to take instructions from its political masters
You don’t need to take instructions from political masters , Supreme Court tells CBI.
The CBI is facing the brunt of the Supreme Court’s observations for now and it remains to be seen if the spotlight will shift to the political executive and Attorney General.
11:20 am: Political knives are out for UPA government
The BJP is the first to target the UPA government over the Supreme Court’s observations and has said that it is direct implication that the Prime Minister was involved in suppressing the issue.
Guess they’re not going to stop demanding his resignation any time soon.
11:15 am: CBI must be liberated from political interference, says SC
Our first exercise will be to liberate CBI from political interference, said the apex court bench.
The CBI’s independent position must be restored, the court observed.
This supression by CBI is not ordinary, it observed.
The court’s observations could be the beginning of a landmark verdict if the apex court does ask the government to free the CBI and make it completely independent.
11:10 am: SC says CBI needs to be liberated from outside influences
The Supreme Court bench is reacting very sharply to the CBI director’s affidavit and has reportedly said that it wants to liberate the CBI from extraneous influences.
“Why was court kept in the dark about sharing probe report with government,” the Supreme Court bench has asked the CBI.
As former CBI director RK Raghavan writing for Firstpost had noted this affidavit could be a watershed in freeing the investigating agency from the political shackles:
“The whole episode should be a blessing in disguise for the much-harassed CBI. Having filed an affidavit which is described to be an affront to the government’s overlordship, I expect the organization to scrupulously ward off in future the government’s efforts to dictate how it should conduct its affairs in matters of investigation.”
Read the complete piece here.
11: 00 am: SC begins hearing Coalgate case, says CBI director’s affidavit is very disturbing
The Supreme Court has begun hearing the CBI director’s affidavit and has said that the document has been a massive breach of trust.
Starting the hearing, the Supreme Court bench has reportedly observed,” This has been a massive breach of trust and our very foundation is shaken.”
Very disturbing feature is there in CBI affidavit, the bench observed.
Sharing information with the government has shaken the entire process, it said.
10: 00 am: Additional Solicitor General only worsens things for govt ahead of SC hearing
A day before the Supreme Court heard the matter, additional Solicitor General, Harin Rawal, blamed the Attorney General GE Vahanvati of influencing the CBI probe into coal scam.
Rawal, who is likely to step out as government’s law officer, had told the apex court in its last hearing that the 8 March status report of the CBI investigation into the coal scam had not been seen by the political executive.
The March 8 status report of the investigating agency was submitted to the court in a sealed cover.
Reuters
In an obvious attempt to put the record straight, Rawal is believed to have said that he was being made a “scapegoat”.
In his submission to the apex court, CBI director Ranjit Sinha had said that the first status report on the Coalgate investigations had been shown to the Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and two Joint Secretary rank officials in the Coal Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office.
“I submit that the draft of the same (draft report) was shared with Hon’ble Union Minister for Law and Justice as desired by him prior to its submission before this Hon’ble Court.
“Besides the political executive, it was also shared with one Joint Secretary-level officer each of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Coal as desired by them,” Sinha said in his affidavit.
However, in addition to the affidavit admitting the status report was shown to the political executive the CBI has also reportedly given a list of all the changes made by the Law Minister and other officials in the status report that was submitted to the Supreme Court.
“If you look at the two drafts, maybe 15-20 per cent changes were effected at the behest of the minister and the bureaucrats,” an unnamed law officer was quoted as saying in an Indian Express report.
The BJP had pounced on the CBI director’s affidavit as proof that the government was interefering in the investigations into allegations of corruption in coal block allocations. The BJP has been seeking the resignation of the Prime Minister and Law Minister over the issue and has also disrupted Parliament since the second half of the Budget Session began.
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/live-will-study-sc-observation-before-we-act-on-it-says-pm-739713.html