Ready for questioning by CBI, says Manmohan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses a press conference on board his special flight on Thursday after his visit to Russia and China.

“I am not above the law of the land. If there is anything that the CBI, or for that matter anybody wants to ask me, I have nothing to hide”

In his first public remarks since he came out earlier this week defending the controversial Hindalco coal block allocation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday suggested he was willing to be questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has launched a probe into the matter.

Appearing upbeat on the way home from trips to Russia and China, which he described as “satisfying,” Dr. Singh expressed the confidence that the Congress would stage a comeback in the 2014 general election.

The Prime Minister also did not mince words expressing disappointment that his talks with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif had not led to reduction of tensions on the Line of Control.

In an interaction with journalists on his plane, Dr. Singh asserted he had nothing to hide on the coal block allocation to Hindalco, a company owned by Kumar Mangalam Birla. Asked if he was ready to be questioned by the CBI, he said: “I am not above the law of the land. If there is anything that the CBI, or for that matter anybody wants to ask me, I have nothing to hide.”