Will Quit Public Life if Proven Guilty, Says PM Silencing Critics Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hits out at ‘irresponsible allegations’

 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday rubbished Team Anna's allegations of corruption against him and his cabinet and said he would quit public life if allegations levelled against him in the allocation of coal blocks were proven. "I will give up my public life if allegations are proved against me. It is unfortunate that irresponsible allegations relating to irregularities in allocation of coal blocks are being made without confirming facts," Singh told reporters on his way back from Myanmar. 

The issue of coal block allocation came in the public domain in March after a leaked draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said the government had given away blocks estimated to be worth . 10.7 lakh crore to private firms. It had said the allocation of 155 blocks between 2004 and 2009 gave companies "undue benefits" of . 10.7 lakh crore. 

Citing the draft CAG report, Team Anna had said the prime minister, who was in charge of the department, 'abused his position to give huge pecuniary benefits to private parties'. It sought an investigation against him and 14 other ministers on charges of corruption. On Monday, the PMO issued a clarification on the charges levelled by Team Anna on the allocation of coal blocks between 2006 and 2009, and said the coal blocks were privatised to meet the growing demand that Coal India failed to meet. Meanwhile, even members of Team Anna were divided over charges of corruption against the prime minister. Hegde Disapproves of 'Shikhandi' Comment 

Former Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde dissociated himself from the charges against Singh. "I do not have the material that Team Anna has as I was not in the meeting (where the issue was discussed). Without studying the material against the ministers, I do not want to comment on it or associate myself with it," Hegde told reporters in Bangalore. He also disapproved of Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan calling the prime minister Shikhandi. "It is not proper. You don't use such words against the prime minister," he said. Earlier, the coal ministry had defended the government, saying blocks were allocated impartially and in the interest of economic growth. The coal ministry says the value of these blocks should not be estimated on the basis of open market prices. "Since the blocks are allocated to private companies only for captive purposes for the specified end-use, the question of linking the blocks to the market price of coal does not arise at all," the ministry said. 

It said the blocks were given to companies at a time demand was weak and there was hardly any pressure for allocation, but several sectors needed captive mines to spur growth. "To put the country on a path of higher growth, capacities in power, steel, cement sectors were required to be added expeditiously. This was one of the main reasons for continuation of allocation of the captive coal blocks," the coal ministry said.