Coalgate Scam: PM to make statement today

Even as the monsoon session of the Parliament is facing the threat of a clear washout, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will make a statement on coal block allocation in the Parliament today in the wake of the CAG report. Singh, who is under attack over the allocation during 2005-2009 when he held the coal portfolio, has been waiting to make a statement since last week but could not do so because of disruption caused by the opposition. Singh is expected to rebut charges levelled in the CAG report contending that there were "inaccuracies" in the assessment of loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore.