Jaiswal slams opposition on FDI issue

KANPUR: Accusing the Opposition parties of acting in an "autocratic" manner by forcing states not to implement FDI in retail, Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today said stalling Parliament on the matter for four days showed their "bankruptcy" of issues.

"This is the Opposition's autocratic behaviour that they are preventing states which want to implement FDI from doing so," Jaiswal said here.

The Opposition wasted Parliament's last session by creating a "drama" over the alleged coal block allocation scam, even though there was no substance in the matter.

This is being repeated in the current session by opposing FDI in retail. "Where is the problem when the Centre has given the freedom to the states on implementation of FDI? Those who want can do so and those who don't may not," he said.

The behaviour of the Opposition shows that they do not have any concrete issue to raise in Parliament. "It smacks of their bankruptcy of issues," he said.

The first four days of the winter session of Parliament were washed out with the Opposition insisting on a debate on FDI issue under rules entailing voting. Normalcy was restored after the government yielded to the Opposition's demand.

On the CAG report on coal block allocation, Jaiswal said the method of assessment that the government's auditor is following should be clear.

The private sector has been allocated coal blocks since 1993 by successive governments. No such block has been given after the UPA II came into power in 2009, the Coal minister said.

Nine FIRs have been lodged in the case and an Inter- Ministerial Group is looking into the performances of the coal blocks. Licenses of 16 coal blocks in private and public sectors have been cancelled, he said.

The government is doing everything it can in the matter, he said, adding it is possible that irregularities happened at lower levels, an angle being investigated by the CBI.