PM directly responsible for coal scam: Arun Jaitley

Alleging that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was directly responsible for the coal allocation scam, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley today asked BJP workers to take the fight against Congress's corruption to the streets.

Addressing the party workers here, Jaitley said "the Prime Minister is saying that he will prefer to remain silent on the allegations against him but he is directly responsible for the coal block allocation scam as he was heading the Coal Ministry (at the relevant time).

"This is the biggest scam in independent India as it has surpassed even the 2G scam. In the 2G scam, the figure of corruption was Rs 1.67 lakh crore but in the coal blocks scam it has touched 1.86 lakh crore."

"Due to the mismanagement and incompetency of this government, the country will face a crisis in the power generation sector soon," he added, asking the cadres to "take the agitation to the streets".

Jaitley was scheduled to address a press conference during his trip here today but it was abruptly cancelled.

The saffron party is facing embarrassment in Gujarat after a local court convicted BJP MLA and former state minister Maya Kodnani in Naroda Patiya 2002 riot case.