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| Manmohan Singh: India ex-PM summoned in coal scandal | Manmohan Singh: India ex-PM summoned in coal scandal |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A court in India has summoned former PM Manmohan Singh over a corruption scandal involving coal mining licences. | A court in India has summoned former PM Manmohan Singh over a corruption scandal involving coal mining licences. |
| Mr Singh and five others have been accused of criminal conspiracy and ordered to appear in court on 8 April. | |
| In 2012, federal auditors said India had lost $33bn (£20bn) because coalfield rights were sold off cheaply. | In 2012, federal auditors said India had lost $33bn (£20bn) because coalfield rights were sold off cheaply. |
| Mr Singh, whose government ran India for a decade until last year, said that he was "open for legal scrutiny" and that the "truth will prevail". | |
| "I will be able to establish my total innocence. Of course I am upset, but this is part of life," Mr Singh told reporters on Wednesday. | |
| Last September, India's Supreme Court cancelled almost all the coal mining licences awarded by the government since 1993, saying they were illegal. | Last September, India's Supreme Court cancelled almost all the coal mining licences awarded by the government since 1993, saying they were illegal. |
| The cancellation has implications for most of India's main political parties which governed India between 1993 and 2010, including the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government. | |
| On Wednesday, the court summoned Mr Singh over the allocation of a coal mining licence to Hindalco Industries in Orissa in 2005, at a time when he was prime minister and also held the coal ministry portfolio. | |
| He had been questioned about the licence by the federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in January. | |
| Also summoned are Hindalco Industries Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and former coal secretary PC Parakh. | Also summoned are Hindalco Industries Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and former coal secretary PC Parakh. |
| The summons came after the court rejected the CBI's finding that there was no prosecutable evidence against Mr Singh and the other accused. | |
| Hindalco declined to comment on Wednesday's court order. A spokesman for Mr Singh's Congress party said "we conducted ourselves with utmost probity and transparency, and the legal process will vindicate us". | Hindalco declined to comment on Wednesday's court order. A spokesman for Mr Singh's Congress party said "we conducted ourselves with utmost probity and transparency, and the legal process will vindicate us". |
| Senior BJP leader and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar denied there was any vindictiveness in pursuing the case. | |
| "The courts do not operate under the BJP. They operate independently," he told reporters. | |
| If found guilty, Mr Singh could be sentenced to jail for life, although correspondents say that is not likely. | |
| India is one of the largest producers of coal in the world and more than half of its commercial energy needs are met by coal. | India is one of the largest producers of coal in the world and more than half of its commercial energy needs are met by coal. |
| In its 2012 report into the sale of coalfields, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) - the federal watchdog - said that private and state companies had benefited from the allocations. | In its 2012 report into the sale of coalfields, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) - the federal watchdog - said that private and state companies had benefited from the allocations. |
| Opposition politicians accused the Congress government of "looting the country" by selling coalfields to companies without competitive bidding. | Opposition politicians accused the Congress government of "looting the country" by selling coalfields to companies without competitive bidding. |
| Mr Modi's government has begun a process of re-auctioning the coal licences and hopes to recover the true value of the coal reserves. | |
| Coal scandal timeline |