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The deadlock in Parliament over the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on coal block allocations continued on Friday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition sticking to their demand for the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, to resign. Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha were adjourned till noon. The Prime Minister had earlier on Monday rejected the CAG's observations as 'misleading' and 'flawed', and blamed the opposition parties for thwarting the efforts of his government to bring a policy of competitive bidding. Manmohan Singh, who spoke both inside Parliament as well as outside, took 'full responsibility' for the decisions taken by the Coal Ministry whose charge he directly held for some time and asserted that at 'any allegation of impropriety is without any basis and unsupported by facts'. Dr. Singh, who is facing sharp criticism from the opposition over the CAG report on coal block allocations, also urged the BJP to debate the issue in Parliament and not disrupt proceedings. The BJP has held the Prime Minister, who then held direct charge of the coal ministry, responsible for what has been estimated as a notional loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crores by the CAG in coal block allocations, and demanded his resignation. The CAG report on coal block allocations states that nearly 150 coalfields were allotted to private and state-run firms without transparency and objectivity between 2005 and 2009.

Coal blocks allocations: Parliament adjourned again over 'quit PM' demand