Coalscam: TMC demands Law Minister's resignation

NEW DELHI: With CBI's affidavit in the Supreme Court triggering a major controversy, TMC today demanded Law Minister Ashwani Kumar's resignation and summoning of the CBI director before the Public Accounts Committee probing the coal allocation scam.

"There is a feeling that CBI has become a Congress Bureau of Investigation. It should have been more diligent in handling issues. However, it could not hold on to itself and gave in to the wishes of the government. This is dangerous for our system," party's Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy told reporters outside Parliament.

Asked if the Law Minister should resign in the wake of the CBI affidavit, he replied in the affirmative.

"Ministers take oath under the Constitution that we will abide by law. This shows they are not abiding by law and, therefore, they should resign," he said.

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha today submitted before the Supreme Court that the agency's status report on coal allocation scam was "shared" with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar "as desired by him" and that senior officials of PMO and Coal ministry had also seen it.

Roy said that as a member of Public Accounts Committee probing the scam, he would request the Speaker to summon Sinha before it to explain as to what made him share the content of the report with the Law minister and the PMO and whether there was any influence on him.

Another party MP Derek O' Brien said, if a minister calls the CBI director, "the meeting itself is contempt of court."

"Where is the original report," he sought to know.