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The deadlock in Parliament over the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on coal block allocations continued on Monday with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition sticking to their demand for Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's resignation over the issue. Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have been adjourned till 12 noon. Dr. Manmohan Singh, is scheduled to make a statement in both houses of Parliament over the CAG report on coal blocks allocation. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla, who made an announcement in this regard today, urged the BJP-led opposition not to disrupt the parliamentary proceedings. "The Prime Minister will be making a statement in both the houses today on the allocation of coal blocks, and he will clear all the doubts. I would request the opposition; particularly the main opposition party, the BJP, to allow the Prime Minister to make the statement because in a parliamentary democracy other voice should also be heard," he said. Shukla also accused the BJP of being double standard on the CAG report. "You must have seen a report by the Chhattisgarh Government, which is a BJP Government. and they have said that CAG's estimate about loss of Chhattisgarh Government is wrong and hypothetical. So, in case of Central Government, CAG is right according to BJP. But in case of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat , all BJP-ruled states, CAG is wrong," he said. The BJP has held the Prime Minister, who then held direct charge of the Coal Ministry, responsible for what has been estimated as loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crores by the CAG in coal block allocation and demanded his resignation. The CAG report on coal block allocation states that nearly 150 coalfields were allotted to private and state-run firms without transparency and objectivity between 2005 and 2009.

Parliament deadlock over coalgate continues, adjourned