Sonia Gandhi Accuses Opposition of \'Blackmail\'

By JIM YARDLEY

With Parliament paralyzed for a sixth consecutive day, Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress party, launched an attack Tuesday against the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, blaming it for holding Parliament to “ransom by blackmail,” even as she tried to rally her party to fight back against criticism over the coal scandal that is now shaking Indian politics.

Mrs. Gandhi's remarks were part of a coordinated public relations effort by Congress to put the B.J.P. on the defensive over its obstructionist tactics in Parliament. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram and Coal Minister Prakash Jaiswal held news briefings on Monday night, hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was shouted down in Parliament by B.J.P. lawmakers as he submitted his official response on the coal scandal.

“It is a matter of regret, of even shame, that at a time when serious issues are affecting our people an d our country, Parliament is not being allowed to function and fulfill its proper constitutional role and duty,” Mrs. Gandhi said on Tuesday morning, according to a transcript of her remarks. “This is the handiwork of just one party â€" the B.J.P. This once again shows up the scant respect it has for democratic values.”

Mrs. Gandhi, speaking to a gathering of Congress party lawmakers in New Delhi, accused the B.J.P. of “false propaganda” and characterized the attacks against the prime minister as “politically motivated.” Mr. Singh on Monday said he assumed full responsibility for the actions of the coal ministry and denied any wrongdoing â€" a position that was blistered by B.J.P. lawmakers.

“We don't need a certificate of responsibility from Congress,” the B.J.P. spokesman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said Tuesday on NDTV. “We need conduct of accountability from them.”

Earlier this month, India's comptroller and auditor general released a re port estimating that favorable government policies had led to sweetheart deals for power companies, enabling them to obtain rights to coal concessions at losses to the treasury estimated at $34 billion. B.J.P. lawmakers have called for Mr. Singh to resign.

For days, as the B.J.P. has hammered the prime minister over the scandal, opposition lawmakers have blocked any action in Parliament. In response, Congress lawmakers have offered to hold a full debate on the coal scandal in Parliament if the opposition will allow the body to function.

But the standoff seems to be hardening, and as yet there does not seem to be space for compromise. Some analysts say the situation could, in the most extreme case, lead to early elections. Or if the impasse continues, it may mean that the current “monsoon” session of Parliament will end without accomplishing anything.