Industry body CII said today that the government should not cancel the allocation of coal blocks that are under the scanner after a CAG report simply because there is a "political" demand to do so. "Everything should go by the law. Action (cancellation of coal blocks) should not be taken because there is a political demand (for it)," CII President Adi Godrej said today.

Reiterating his stand that there is no need to cancel all the coal licences as being demanded by the principal Opposition BJP, Godrej said the Government can't unilaterally take such a decision without giving out details. Action should be taken if there are clear signs that law has been violated, he said, adding, "the Government should not allow any malfeasance".

CAG has said the Government suffered a presumptive loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in coal block allocations during 2004-2008, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the coal portfolio.