Coal scam stand-off: PM Manmohan Singh invites LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley to his house tonight

NEW DELHI: A fresh stand-off cropped up on Tuesday between the government and the BJP over missing coal files issue, prompting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reach out to the main opposition to resolve the matter.

Singh called BJP leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley for a meeting tonight to sort out issues that came up after his statement in Parliament earlier in the day on the missing files.

BJP was upset as the Prime Minister left both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha immediately after making statements in the two Houses. BJP leaders said they wanted to seek clarifications from the Prime Minister but could not.

To protest this, BJP leaders boycotted a meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar this afternoon and decided to vociferously protest in Parliament tomorrow, when the crucial Land Acquisition Bill is slated for consideration in Rajya Sabha.

Amidst this, the Prime Minister took the initiative of inviting the top BJP leaders for discussions.

Sources said Singh personally called up Advani and both leaders of Opposition and invited them over for a meeting with him tonight.

Earlier in the day, BJP led the opposition crusade in Parliament and expressed dissatisfaction over the Prime Minister's statement on missing coal files saying their queries have not been answered and the steps taken by government to recover the missing files have not been listed.

BJP is furious that Speaker Meira Kumar did not allow Swaraj to speak. Even Advani, who raised his hand seeking permission to speak, was ignored by the Chair.

"All norms were broken in the Lok Sabha. The Leader of the Opposition was insulted when she was not permitted to speak. Her mike was muted. Even Advani, who rarely raises his hand to speak, was not allowed. Have you heard of any Parliament in the world where Leader of Opposition is not allowed to speak"? BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.