News Desk: Veteran social activist Anna Hazare targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh calling his a remote controlled leader. He rejected a CBI probe into the alleged coal block allocation scam seeking an independent probe into the matter.


Anna asked, if there is no problem, why the PM is scared of ordering a probe? "I think we should not call for a CBI investigation into this. There should be a retired judge and other people probe the scam," said Anna.


Hitting at the UPA government, Anna said, the government is claiming no minister is corrupt. But you can see ministers of this government are going to jail and they claim nobody is corrupt".


However, Anna believes the Prime Minister was not involved in the coal block scam, but he backed the tainted people. "I don't think the Prime Minister will take the money but he did that for somebody, we have doubts. We should not ask for anybody's resignation without the probe. I think all this is happening because of remote control design", he said.


Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office accused BJP president Nitin Gadkari's son of benefiting in the deal. Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanswamy said that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh's government had allocated coal blocks to people, who were close to Gadkari. However, the issue was not raised in the assembly.


Anna's statement comes a day after the CBI decided to hold a preliminary probe into the alleged coal block allocation scam that resulted in losses to the tune of Rs 10.7 lakh crore.


The CAG report said that the UPA government had failed to auction 155 coal blocks between 2004 to 2009. The PM was dragged into the controversy as the PMO was the in charge of the coal ministry between the period 2006 and 2009.

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