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Centre not to issue ordinance on allotments at present

Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision staying most of the cancellations, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said, "Today's order is an interim order and in such matters the court normally passes such directions and we [the Centre] will implement it."

He said there was no need to issue an ordinance, but the prime minister's order against favouritism in allotment was appropriate and taken after due consultation with senior ministers.

The Centre will defend its decision when the hearing resumes on November 12, he said.

The Supreme Court had stayed the Centre's decision to cancel all allotments of petrol pumps, gas agencies, and kerosene dealerships since January 2000 and directed the return of the cancelled allotments to the dealers within two weeks.

Tara Shankar Sahay adds:

Chief Congress spokesman S Jaipal Reddy said it [the court order] had confirmed their "worst fears" about the government's actions following the scam.

He said the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had from the first day been conspiring to have the best of both worlds and did not want to take the flak for cancelling the allotment while planning simultaneously to facilitate relief from the courts for its beneficiaries.

From the word go, Reddy said, the cancellation order was not going to be "legally sustainable" unless and until it was sustained by an inquiry into the irregularities that had allegedly accompanied the allotment.

He said that if the government had presented to the court all the statements of the retired judges on the dealer selection boards, the Supreme Court would have upheld the cancellation order.

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Arun Jaitley said the issue was before the court and he didn't wish to comment on it.

PTI

The Petrol Pum Row: The Complete Coverage

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