Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was summoned by Delhi based special court in the case of coal block distribution scam. Along with Manmohan Singh the court has also summoned businessman Kumar Mangalam Birla and former Coal Secretary Mr. P. C. Parakh and has asked them to be present in the court on 8th April. This case is about the distribution of coal block Talabira II and III in Odisha to Hindalco, a company under Birla Group in 2005. The summoning of the former Prime Minister like an ordinary accused is more or less shattering the honest image of Manmohan Singh which was exemplary amidst the various scams that arose during the UPA government’s rule. On his last day as the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh said that he hoped that history will do justice to him but this summon in the coal block scam has entirely rocked his present. Accusing the former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh of criminal conspiracy and breach of public faith by a public servant under the Anti Corruption law in the coalgate scam is not a normal event. Mr. Singh is presently angry with this summon but he is taking this news as a phase of life to calm his distraught self. He absolutely believes in the law and order of the country as well as his honesty. For the sake of debate let’s believe for a moment that Mr. Singh is honest and his loyalty cannot be questioned but still the question arises that as a finance minister who released the economy of the country out of the web of Redtapism, how did the flames of coalgate scam reach him?
However the arguments of the congress party is right that only summoning someone does not prove his guilt yet it is a fact that during the scam the coal ministry was handled by Manmohan Singh and CBI did submit the closure report without questioning him. Also there is proof that in spite of various attempts the former Prime Minister was kept at bay from questioning. Due to the force of Special Court he was first questioned on this matter and now along with a few others he has been charged in this case. The court has not just merely called them but it has obtained numerous circumstantial evidences which makes their presence crucial to the case. Along with being a Prime Minister Mr. Singh at that time was looking after the coal ministry while Mr. P.C. Parakh was the secretary, but what made the court suspicious was the fact that the PM Office in its eagerness to distribute the coal block to Hindalco was constantly putting pressure. The head of PMO and Coal ministry Mr. Manmohan Singh now has to disclose the true facts about this scam. The former head of CAG Mr. Vinod Rai has clearly stated in his book that not only coal block distribution but also other files like spectrum case used to reach the PM’s desk and the then prime minister was regularly informed about such cases by the respective ministers. Evidently it will be tough to prove that Mr. Manmohan Singh had a personal interest in granting Talabira II to Hindalco at the end due to Mr. Birla’s repeated letters to the PM. In this circumstance it might happen that the allegations against Mr. Manmohan Singh may not last in the special court. In spite of this Mr. Manmohan Singh will remain responsible for not being able to regulate malpractices during his reign. He will obviously be asked the question that the Prime Minister who risked everything to pass the nuclear treaty with America, why couldn’t he show the same loyalty by making the process of coal block auction transparent? In spite of his clean and honest mage if Dr. Manmohan Singh is the second prime minister after the late P.V. Narasimha Rao to be accused of deception in democratic India then his silence and his effortlessness has played a major role behind it. Dr. Manmohan singh it is the need of the hour that you come clean and tell the truth to the country. Now you will have to break your silence.
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