New Delhi, Aug 27 (IBNS): The Congress on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said it should first look at its own affairs before blaming others.
The Congress made the comments just an hour after the BJP top brass demanded the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation for his alleged role in the coal block allocation scam.
"Before making allegations against others the Bharatiya Janata Party should first examine its own affairs," Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said while addressing a press conference on Monday.
He said the ruling party is willing to debate on the coal block allocation issue but the BJP has been running away from it.
Attacking the Congress, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said: "Revenue has not gone to the government but they have moved into account of the Congress party."
Reacting to the BJP's blames, Tiwari said: "Today the BJP has said the Congress had earned huge money through the auctions. This mota maal and chota maal (money) can be the culture of the BJP. It is not the culture of the Congress."
The BJP on Monday said Manmohan Singh should take moral responsibility of the coal scam and resign from his chair.
Amid uproar inside the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and their adjournments, Singh on Monday said the observations of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the coal allocations are disputable and they would be challenged in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The BJP criticized Singh's statement and said he was taking refuge to mere words.
"Prime Minister's statement has made the CAG allegations more prominent," senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said while addressing a press conference on Monday.
"We want the Prime Minister to take moral responsibility and it is also for this reason that we want him to resign," she said.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley also demanded Singh's resignation and said: "PM has a direct responsibility for the loss of revenue."
"We demand that all the coal blocks allocation should be cancelled and re-allocated," he said.
The BJP and the Congress exchanged barbs on a day when both houses of the Parliament were adjourned for the day as the main opposition party of the country created ruckus over the coal scam and demanded Singh's resignation.
The coal report of the CAG has pointed finger at the loss-making coal block allocations when the portfolio was held by Manmohan Singh.
The report by the CAG said 25 private companies received benefits of around Rs 1.86 lakh crore through of coalblock allocations in various states.