Manmohan as accused

Even as the UPA was confronted with a barrage of scandals, Manmohan Singh managed to keep his reputation for personal probity intact. Why “Mr Clean” chose not to quit amid the corruption charges against his government still awaits a convincing answer, but the former Prime Minister now faces a serious accusation that would have to pass legal scrutiny. The second former PM after PV Narasimha Rao to be listed among the accused in a criminal case, an upset Manmohan Singh reacted that he will prove his innocence in a fair trial. Summoned by a CBI court as an “accused” in a 2005 Odisha coal block allocation case, he plans to file an appeal even as the Congress party has rallied in his support. Its senior leaders have asked the ruling BJP to stand by the report of the CBI, “which has twice said there is no ground to take criminal action”. The BJP, too, has uncharacteristically played down the development, perhaps because of the crucial pending legislations in the Rajya Sabha.

The special court’s order reads that it appears that the coal block allocation approved by Singh, then in a dual role as coal minister, on the basis of a note by then coal secretary PS Parekh facilitated huge profits to metals giant Hindalco and losses to state-owned Neyveli Lignite Corporation. He’s been asked to appear in court on April 8 along with Parekh, Hindalco owner Kumar Mangalam Birla and two of his top managers. Who’s guilty or not will be decided only after charges are framed, subsequent arguments and the final trial.

The court has cited several questionable procedures, such as Manmohan Singh approving the note without making any observation, Parekh withholding information and Birla tapping “channels”. The former PM has claimed that the final decision was entirely appropriate. Consistently accused of being indecisive during his tenure, he now faces a court trial for taking decisions which he claims would have promoted growth. And that too at the request of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, not a Congress ally.