While the opposition is set to raise the heat on coal blocks allocation scam, the buzz in the corridors of power is that a senior bureaucrat in the prime minister’s office (PMO) is on sticky wicket.

Several senior CBI officers are learnt to be flashing a copy of an email, allegedly sent by Shatrughan Singh, joint secretary to the prime minister, to the CBI DIG, indicating that the PMO has approved the draft status report on coal blocks allocation scam.

If it is true, political pundits ask, will it explode during the second half of Budget session of Parliament? While the prime minister could be in  a spot if this email turns out to be true, will the joint secretary be sacrificed if the opposition picks it up and the issue turns too embarrassing for the government?

Incidentally, Shatrughan Singh was district collector of Faizabad in 1992 when the Babri Masjid was razed.