NATURAL WITH HINDI SPEECH
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SOURCE: ANI
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India's main opposition demands Law Minister's ouster over coal scam report
India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeks ouster of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar for allegedly prompting changes in the coal scam report prepared by the nodal probe agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
SHOWS:
KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA (APRIL 16, 2013) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)
1. SPOKESPERSON OF INDIA'S MAIN OPPOSITION, BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY (BJP), SHAHNAWAZ HUSSAIN, AT A NEWS CONFERENCE
2. HUSSAIN LOOKING
3. INTERIOR OF THE NEWS CONFERENCE HALL
4. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) SPOKESPERSON OF INDIA'S MAIN OPPOSITION, BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY (BJP), SHAHNAWAZ HUSSAIN, SAYING: "We will raise this issue on the floor of parliament. The Law Minister should immediately resign or the Prime Minister should dismiss him. We know that he is very close to the Prime Minister. Coalgate is related to the PMO (Prime Minister's Office)."
5. THE BJP SPOKESPERSON SEATED
6. SHAHNAWAZ HUSSAIN STANDING TO LEAVE
NEW DELHI, INDIA (APRIL 16, 2013) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)
7. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) SPOKESPERSON OF INDIA'S RULING CONGRESS PARTY, RASHID ALVI, SAYING:"The CBI functions independently. The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to file an affidavit. The CBI will file the affidavit and truth will come out before the nation."
FILE-RANCHI, JHARKHAND, INDIA (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)
8. HEAPS OF COAL
9. A MECHANISED SHOVEL LIFTING COAL AND LOADING INTO A DUMPER
10. A COAL MINE
11. A MACHINE PROCESSING COAL
12. COAL ON A CONVEYOR BELT
13. A MECHANISED SHOVEL LOADING COAL ONTO A TRUCK
STORY: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded either resignation or sacking of Minister of Law and Justice, Ashwani Kumar for allegedly directing changes in the coal scam report prepared by the nodal probe agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Spokesperson of BJP, Shahnawaz Hussain stated this at a news conference in Kolkata, capital of eastern state of West Bengal on Tuesday (April 16).
Reportedly, Ashwani Kumar met the Director of CBI, Ranjit Sinha, asking for changes in the agency's report on illegal coalfields allocation to private firms between 2006 and 2009 that it was to submit to the Supreme Court.
The scam reached the doorsteps of the ruling Congress party because Prime Minister Singh headed the Coal Ministry between 2006 and 2009.
"We will raise this issue on the floor of parliament. The Law Minister should immediately resign or the Prime Minister should dismiss him. We know that he is very close to the Prime Minister. Coalgate is related to the PMO (Prime Minister's Office)," said BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain.
Rejecting the BJP's charges, India's ruling Congress Party contended that CBI functions independent of the government.
"The CBI functions independently. The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to file an affidavit. The CBI will file the affidavit and truth will come out before the nation," said Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi in New Delhi.
The government has been embroiled in the Coalgate scam since March 2012, after reports clearly indicated that coal fields were allocated without a transparent bidding process, causing a loss of 1.86 lakh rupees to the public exchequer.
The federal government had tried to defuse a political crisis over the coal deals that has deepened a perception of dysfunction in the world's biggest democracy and derailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's efforts to regain confidence of investors.
Singh had denied any wrongdoing and pointed out that it was his government that proposed competitive bidding.
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