UPA ministers join India Inc, say FIR against Birla will hit investments

After Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, at least three other UPA ministers have expressed their concern at the Central Bureau of Investigation’s decision to name Aditya Birla group Kumar Mangalam Birla in its latest FIR in the Coal block allocation scam.

On Wednesday, Sharma called the FIR “unfortunate” and said the CBI “should not play to the gallery and create an atmosphere of sensation and shock”.

In a report in the Economic Times , Sharma has further said there is a need to distinguish between bona fide and mala fide decisions and agencies must “maintain their balance”.

He is quoted as saying, “I can’t fathom how a case of impropriety can be made against Birla, an iconic industrialist respected all over the world.”

Other UPA ministers joined the chorus of upset India Inc voices too.

Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot was quoted as saying the move would dampen business confidence and investment sentiments.

Congress spokesperson and Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said the move is a hark back to a time when profit was a dirty word.

“Alleged criminal culpability of the leaders of Corporate India must be juxtaposed against implications it has on investment, growth and the overall business climate,” Tewari is quoted as saying in the report.

Without defending anyone, Minister of State for Telecom, Shipping and Ports Milind Deora said he disagreed with the way people’s names are dragged into controversies and called for a more nuanced view of what are policy decisions and what are scams.

Read the Economic Times report here .