Govt rejects demand for Law Minister's resignation

Government today rejected Opposition demand for resignation of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar in the wake of allegations that he tried to influence CBI's status report on the coal block scam investigation, submitted to the Supreme Court.

"I don't think that is a relevant demand," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said, adding that CBI had made it clear that it had not been pressurised.

"If CBI says they were not pressurised...there has been a statement by CBI. And somebody stands up and says they were pressurised, the person supposed to be pressurised is not saying that. So, how can you move on that," Nath told reporters outside Parliament House while replying to a query on the Opposition demand.

Soon after the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day at 2 PM on various issues including alleged coal scam and rape of a five-year-old girl in Delhi, the Minister appealed to the Opposition to cooperate with the government for smooth functioning of Parliament.

He said the government was open to discussing all issues on the floor of the House.

Also read: No scam in allocation of coal blocks: Jaiswal

The coal block allocation issue figured in the Rajya Sabha too where opposition parties were adamant on calling the Law Minister in the House and seeking suo motu statements from both Prime Minister Manmohan Sngh and Ashwani Kumar.

Congress has already rejected demands for the resignation of Kumar.

Nath also rejected a senior opposition leader's reported remarks that Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi was talking in the the language used by the Opposition to influence the functioning of the government.

"No way is Mrs Gandhi interfering in the functioning of the Government," he said.