The Government has said the presumptive loss shown by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) was flawed as the coal has not been actually mined. In a joint press conference of Group of Minister on Media in New Delhi on Friday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said loss could arise only if the coal was taken out and sold at some price.

Making a fervent appeal to the Opposition to allow Parliament to function, Chidambaram alleged the BJP was unwilling to allow the House to function or discuss any issue. He said Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was ready to make a statement on coal block allocation in Parliament in the context of CAG report.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said the democratic process was being halted by conspiracy to tarnish the image of honest and sincere leadership.