Centre to welcome CBI probe into coal scam, says Union coal minister

Strongly favouring an independent probe into the multi-crore coal scam in Orissa, Union coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today said that if the state government recommends a CBI inquiry into the matter, the Centre would facilitate it.

"The state government must ensure an impartial and independent probe into the coal scam. The investigation should be taken to its logical end," Jaiswal told reporters after meeting Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneshwar.

While the state's anti-corruption vigilance wing is now probing the irregularities, the Centre would welcome any move by the state government to recommend investigation by the CBI, he said.

"It is the duty of the state government to act tough as irregularities took place during distribution at Orissa Small Industries Corporation (OSIC) and Orissa Consumer Cooperative Federation (OCCF), causing loss to the state," he said.

The union minister also met and interacted with the Congress MLAs staging a sit-in in the assembly premises demanding the removal of the two ministers allegedly involved in the linkage coal scam.