Sonia leads Cong''s solidarity march for Manmohan Singh

Tribune News service

New Delhi, March 12

Congress leaders led by its chief Sonia Gandhi today marched from the AICC headquarters here to the residence of Manmohan Singh to express solidarity with the former prime minister, a day after he was named an accused in a coal block allocation case.

Sonia said the party was outraged at the summons served on the former Prime Minister.

"We are outraged at the news of summons being served on Dr Manmohan Singh. Dr Singh ji is our former PM. He is known not only in our country but throughout the world as being a person of probity and integrity. We are here to offer our unstinted support, our solidarity. We are (the Congress party) fully behind him. We shall fight this legally and with all our means at our command. We are sure…we are convinced that he will be vindicated,” said Sonia.

Gandhi, CWC members, party MPs as also other office bearers met at 24 Akbar Road here following which the leaders marched to the residence of Singh on 3 Motilal Nehru Marg.

Singh had yesterday expressed confidence that he will prove his innocence in a fair trial.

"Of course, I am upset but this is a part of life. I have always said I am open for legal scrutiny...I am sure the truth will prevail and I will get a chance to put forward my case with all the facts," Singh had said.

A special court had summoned Singh along with industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, ex-coal secretary P C Parakh and three others as accused in a case pertaining to allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005 and asked them to appear before it on April 8.

Manmohan thanks party

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today thanked the Congress party and Sonia Gandhi for showing solidarity with him and said he was grateful to them.

Shortly after the Congress President and other top leaders marched to his residence to show their support to him, he said he was "more than pleased and grateful".

"The Congress party, Soniaji and all members of the working committee and senior leaders have come to my residence, expressed solidarity with me and that we will fight this case to the best of our ability," said the former Prime Minister.