PM must explain why law minister should not be sacked: CPI

The CPI asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explain in Parliament why law minister Ashwani Kumar, accused of interfering in CBI's preparation of a report on the scam in allocation of coal mines, should not be dismissed.

"The Prime Minister should face Parliament and explain his defence of Kumar. He should also explain that he himself has no role in the 2G spectrum allocation and the coal-block allocation scandals," CPI national secretary D Raja said.

"If Parliament does not function, the responsibility will lie squarely with Congress party which has been stonewalling everything that the Opposition has been demanding," he said. He was reacting to the Prime Minister's defence of the law minister and rejecting the Opposition demands for Kumar's and his own resignation.

"The government has no answer to the questions raised by the Opposition. Why should the Opposition suffer because of the PM's belligerence? The government refuses to take any political or moral responsibility for the series of scams," Raja said.