SC coal verdict: BJP reacts cautiously; Congress says their stand vindicated

The BJP was cautious in its reaction to the Supreme Court's verdict on coal block allocations during previous NDA and UPA regimes while Congress said the judgement has vindicated their stand. "We are studying the Supreme Court ruling and will come out with our response only after that," BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

He said there has been a lot of hue and cry in Parliament over the coal block allocations and the Parliamentary Standing Committee had also taken note of the scam. Congress leader and former Union Minister Manish Tewari, while reacting to the apex court's verdict, said "their stand has been vindicated as this is precisely what the Congress has been saying."

He said the process followed between 2004 and 2009 was same that was being followed between 1993 and 2004. "Therefore, if the Supreme Court has come to a conclusion with regards to the entire period between 1993 to 2009 and the conclusion is uniform in nature, it obviously vindicates what we are saying," he said.

The Supreme Court today held that all coal block allocations made since 1993 till 2010 before pre-auction era during previous NDA and UPA regimes have been done in an illegal manner by an "ad-hoc and casual" approach "without application of mind". The apex court, which examined the allocation of 218 blocks, said "Common good and public interest have, thus, suffered heavily" as "there was no fair and transparent procedure, all resulting in unfair distribution of the national wealth." A bench headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha also held "no State Government or public sector undertakings of the State Governments are eligible for mining coal for commercial use".