NEW DELHI: ‘Coalgate’ continued to haunt the government as a united opposition demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation over the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that irregularities in coal block allocation led to losses of Rs 1.85 lakh crore.

Even as both the houses of the parliament were adjourned today, the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) vowed not to let the houses function until the prime minister resigned.

BJP spokeperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said,”This is not the only incident of corruption. There is the 2G scam, the Commonwealth Games scam, airport public private partnership scam. Manmohan Singh’s government is the government of corruption and loot.”

He added that the main opposition party will also take up the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on Delhi airport.

The BJP and its allies refused to let the house conduct its business, leading to angry exchanges between them and the treasury benches. Eventually, both houses were adjourned for the day before lunch.

Manmohan Singh was unwilling to oblige the opposition by resigning but offered a debate on the CAG report in parliament.

The government dismissed as absurd the demand for the resignation and offered a debate.

Singh, who was present in the Rajya Sabha but did not speak, told the media that the government was ready for any debate and give satisfactory answers to all issues.

“We are ready for any debate,” he said. “We can give satisfactory answers to all issues.”

Union minister Kapil Sibal defended Manmohan Singh, saying: ‘We know our Prime Minister. He cannot do anything wrong’.

“What were the policies followed after 1990 ? What used to happen earlier? How were the coal blocks allocated after 1993 ? Who brought transparency? That should be investigated” he added.

As political tensions escalated through the day, the government tried to hit back by asking why the opposition was shying away from a debate.

“They (BJP) want to create a situation of crisis but people should know the truth and what is their (BJP) role in the coal allocation scam,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.

“Why is the opposition shying away from a debate? We are ready to discuss the issue,” Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy told IANS.