Deora defends Baalu, Opposition unimpressed

ITCHING FOR A FIGHT: BJP MP Sushma Swaraj says Baalu has committed impropriety.

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New Delhi: The United Progressive Alliance government has clarified that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had made a routine reference to the Petroleum Ministry to help TR Baalu's son get natural gas out of turn.

But documents with CNN-IBN show that the Petroleum Ministry was specifically asked to keep the PMO in the loop on the issue.

On Wednesday, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora finally stood up to defend his colleague and Union Transport Minister Baalu, who is in the line of fire for admitting he misused his position for personal gains.

In his defence, Deora says the references from the PMO to help DMK leader Baalu were in a routine manner but documents with CNN-IBN state otherwise.

The document signed by an official of the Petroleum Ministry clearly states that the PMO has to be kept in the loop on the issue.

The fact that the PMO wrote at least eight letters requesting the ministry provide natural gas to two firms owned by Baalu family at the earliest clearly shows this was no routine reference.

Obviously no one in the Opposition was willing to listen to his defence.

And an embarrassed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dragged into the controversy preferred to walk out even as the Opposition demanded that its the PM who should reply.

"The minister has committed impropriety and why should we listen to him," BJP MP Sushma Swaraj said.

Manmohan also said that his office has done "nothing unusual" on the Baalu issue for it to stoke a controversy.

The Prime Minister said, "There is nothing unusual. The minister (Murli Deora) has explained everything in Parliament."

Asked whether he was distancing himself from the controversy, he replied, "What is there to distance?"

But the government's hands are tied and in an election year it's not easy to ignore an important ally.

(With inputs from Meetu Jain and Sumit Pande)