NEW DELHI // India's opposition angrily denounced the government yesterday after the coal ministry admitted it had lost some files and was unable to turn them over to a high-profile corruption inquiry.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has been looking into how the coal ministry, which was headed by the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, from 2004-2009, allocated mining licences.
The national auditor alleged last year that the ministry had given away hundreds of billions of rupees in windfall gains to 100 private and some state-run companies, sparking a police investigation into whether kickbacks were paid in exchange.
Sriprakash Jaiswal, the coal minister, admitted on Saturday that some files from 1993 to 2004 were missing and that a committee headed by a senior ministry official was investigating the matter.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which called for Mr Singh to step down when the scandal erupted, said the government was responsible for the vanished files.
"Obviously we hold the government responsible for the disappearance of evidence. If something in my custody goes missing, I am culpable since it was my responsibility to begin with," said Meenakshi Lekhi, a BJP spokeswoman.
"Now that these files have vanished no one knows what transpired. In these circumstances the least the government must do is to cancel all the licences, now that we have no evidence to show if the contracts were valid."
Parliament was temporarily adjourned amid the uproar over the disappearance of the files.
Mr Singh's coalition government, dominated by the left-leaning Congress party, has been beset by a string of corruption cases in recent years. The latest allegations of mismanagement have piled pressure on him ahead of elections due by next year.
