Odishatv Bureau
New Delhi: Rejecting as "preposterous" the opposition demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over alleged scam in coal block allocation, the government today said that it was ready for a discussion on the issue in Parliament.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the opposition demand was "preposterous and baseless" and that BJP was "trying to make an issue out of nothing".

"Let them come for a discussion. It is not right on their part. They know that there is nothing. Still they are trying to create a situation on an issue which is not there," he told reporters outside Parliament House.

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day following uproar over opposition demand for the Prime Minister`s resignation on CAG report on coal block allocation.

The CAG report has stated that there was an estimated loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009.

Lashing out at the government, BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said that it was an "all round unsuccessful tenure" for Congress-led UPA-II.

"Economy is in a bad shape, there are scams. Corruption is beyond any imagination. Ministers keep saying that there are losses, then they say losses are justified. So what do we do make out of it?," Joshi told reporters outside Parliament.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said, "When there is no proof to support their argument why do they demand this. In every session, the opposition, specially BJP, keeps demanding the Prime Minister`s resignation."

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