Thaindian News

Kolkata, Sep 11 (IANS) Training guns on Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on the alleged irregularities in coal block allocation, the Samajwadi Party Tuesday held him responsible for allocating three coal blocks “one hour of taking charge” as minister in the second UPA regime.

Jaiswal has, however, said he has not sanctioned even a single coal block during his ministerial stint, and allocation letters of only two coal blocks approved during the United Progressive Alliance-1 regime were issued.

The Samjawadi Party did not accept the clarification.

“He has already said that somebody had already given the clearance. The minister concerned who has accepted it, and has signed it, is responsible for this thing. I repeat that the minister who has accepted it is responsible for it,” said SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav.

Earlier in the day, Ram Gopal Yadav had made the startling allegation that Jaiswal had “cleared allocation of three coal blocks with one hour and seven minutes of taking charge as union coal minister”.

Asked about the his party’s relations with the Congress in the backdrop of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s remarks earlier in the day that it was “fulfilling the role of the opposition”, he said his party did not support the wrongdoing of the Congress.

The Samajwadi Party is providing crucial outside support to the Congress-led UPA-II.

“We will support the positive things of the Congress. But we are opposing congress at the same time. Because we won’t support the wrong deeds of the Congress,” said Ram Gopal Yadav.

He did not agree with a questioner that West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was angry with the SP for the way it ditched her ahead of the presidential polls.

“Mamata didi is never angry (with us). We are not enemies,” he said.

Mulayam Singh and Banerjee had exhibited great bonhomie in the lead up to the presidential polls when the two jointly declared their panel of candidates for the country’s highest office.

However, the tie-up was short-lived, as the Samajwadi Party supremo did a u-turn within a day and extended support to Congress nominee Pranab Mukherjee, despite Banerjee’s strong opposition to the latter’s candidature then.

Ram Gopal Yadav sidestepped a query on whether his party would support Banerjee as the prime ministerial candidate if a third front is formed and comes close to power after the next general election.

“This is a hypothetical question. The time has not yet come to answer this question. But we should pray to almighty that if such a situation arises, then we can answer such question,” he said.