PM Attacks CAG, BJP Won't Give Up

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday attacked the official auditor for suggesting huge presumptive losses from coal blocks allocation and said allegations of impropriety hurled against him were baseless.

But a combative Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) insisted that the prime minister should take moral responsibility for the presumptive 1.86 lakh crore ($37 billion) loss and resign.

With parliament paralysed for a week, Manmohan Singh sought to defend himself and his government in both houses of parliament, but the BJP again shouted him down. He then laid a statement on the table.

"I want to assure the members that as the minister in charge, I take full responsibility for the decisions. I wish to say that any allegations of impropriety are without basis and unsupported by facts," he said.

"The facts ... show that the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) findings are flawed on multiple counts. The premise of the CAG is flawed. The observations of the CAG are clearly disputable," he added.

Later, speaking to the media outside parliament, Manmohan Singh said parliament was not being allowed to function "and BJP is determined to disrupt normal functioning of parliament".

"We have a strong and credible case. They (CAG) will be challenged when the matter comes before the PAC (Public Accounts Committee)," he said.

The BJP was unrelenting.

Alleging kickbacks in the allocation of 142 coal blocks, BJP's Sushma Swaraj told the media: "We want him to accept moral responsibility. The PM is responsible for the revenue loss. That is why we want him to go."