PMO distances itself from Birla controversy

New Delhi:Expressing worry over the CBI action on Kumar Mangalam Birla, commerce and industry ministry Anand Sharma said, "Time has come for all institutions to collectively reflect because who is going to take the responsibility for what has happened so far?" He refused to comment on individual companies. 

    Speaking to TOI, corporate affairs minister Sachin Pilot too advised caution. "While no one is above the law and wrong doers have to be brought to justice, we must ensure that such actions are based on hard facts and do not create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Recent incidents will certainly dampen business confidence and investment sentiment, both domestic and foreign. It will perhaps also negatively impact decision-making by bureaucrats and policymakers." 
    Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh urged caution in proceeding in the case, saying that while "we are witch hunting", the country is forced to import coal to feed its thermal power stations. "The government, the judiciary and everyone should note that despite one of the largest coal reserves, we are witch hunting and importing coal to feed our thermal power plants," Singh said. 
    On Tuesday, the CBI lodged an FIR against Aditya Birla Group chairman K M Birla, and former coal secretary P C Parakh, sending shockwaves across the industry and the bureaucracy. 
    Many drew parallels between the current round of probes with the string of actions by an overzealous Enforcement Directorate under V P Singh against top industrialists such as S L Kirloskar, L M Thapar and Kapal Mehra. 
    Coming under attack from the opposition, the PMO sought to distance itself from the controversy. PMO sources said Manmohan Singh has made it clear that he had nothing to hide in any coal block allocation under investigation. "The government is fully cooperating with the Supreme Court on the probe," said an official. In recent months, apart from Birla, several top industrialists—Sunil Mittal, Ravi and Anshuman Ruia of Essar, Naveen Jindal of JSPL, JSW's Sajjan Jindal and Unitech's Sanjay Chandra. A host of corporate houses, including Anil Ambani's group, Vodafone and Tata Communication, are facing CBI action for alleged irregularities.