Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has defended his ministry as well as the government on the coal block allotments issue, saying there's no merit in allegations made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

In its report, the CAG alleged that blocks with nearly 44 billion tonnes of coal were allotted to private companies at throwaway prices, and 194 of the total coal block allotments were made on mere recommendations. The Auditor estimated that the taxpayers lost 1.86 lakh crore due to the coal block allotments.

But, Jaiswal argued that the coal blocks allocations were made after five states had opposed competitive bidding.

Defending the allotments, the coal minister said, "The Opposition knows that there is no merit in the allegations made by the CAG... five states, then ruled by the opposition parties, had opposed to competitive bidding."

The Opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been aggressively demanding resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying he is legally responsible for the huge loss to the taxpayers as he held the coal portfolio at the time of allotments of the coal blocks.

In response, Mr. Jaiswal said there was a conspiracy to bring growth to a standstill and taint image on honest politicians like Mr. Singh.